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THE 



CHRISTIAN PASTORATE 



ITS 



CHARACTER, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND 
DUTIES. 



EY 



DANIEL P. KIDDER, D. D., 

Author of '^ A Treatise on Ho^niletics,'''' '■'■Sketches of Residence and 
Ti-avels in Brazil,^^ etc. 




C INC INN A TI: 
HITCHCOCK AND WALDEN, 

NEW YORK: 
CARLTON AND LANAHAN. 

1871. 



*nv° 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

HITCPICOCK & WALDEN, 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



1 



PREFACE. 



I 



AT EARLY thirty-five years have passed away 

since the writer first entered upon the duties 

of the Christian Pastorate. The earlier periods of 

his public life introduced him successively to all the 

principal phases of pastoral responsibility. From 

those days to the present, he has been an interested 

observer of the manner in which pastoral duties have 

been discharged (or neglected) in his own and other 

Churches, at home and abroad. 

As an instructor of candidates for the ministry, 

during the last fifteen years, he has had repeated 

occasion to review and discuss the whole subject, 

both in the light of his personal observation and of 

what has been written in reference to it by others. 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

In sequence of such experiences he has felt called 
upon to prepare the present volume, with the de- 
sign of supplying a desideratum in the literature of 
the pastoral office. Most of the books on this sub- 
ject, heretofore published, have had reference to con- 
ditions of Church organization and action, very dif- 
ferent from those of the voluntary Churches of this 
country. None of them have referred prominently to 
the great evangelical experiment incepted, more than 
a hundred years ago, for " the spread of scriptural 
holiness over these lands," and throughout the world, 
under the auspices of " the people called Methodists." 

In view of the success of that experiment, and of 
its widening prospects, it now seems high time that 
the theory and practice of pastoral duty, as accepted 
by American Methodists, should have a full exhibit, 
as well for the information of others as for the more 
systematic instruction of our own young ministers. 
Moreover, as the duties of Churches and pastors are 
reciprocal, interblending at every point, it is to be 
hoped that our official members and people gener- 
ally, will henceforth become more studious of those 
duties and of our whole system of Church action, as 



PREFACE. 5 

seen from its practical center, the pastoral point of 
view. The aim of this book, therefore, is not merely 
to elevate the standard of pastoral character and efQ- 
ciency, but also, by general circulation, to increase the 
working power of the Church in every department. 

Prompted by concurrent motives of so great interest, 
the task of the author has been an agreeable one, and 
he awaits the result of its execution with hopefulness. 

EvANSTON, May, 187 i. 



L 



p 



'ONE but he who made the world cajt make a minister of the 
gospel.^'' ^ John Newton. 

'^ Some preachers study their sermons without studying the 

people to whom they are to preach the?n.''^ 

Rutherford. 

^By repeated experiments we learn that though a man preach 
like an angel, he will neither collect [a society) nor preserve a 
society which is collected, without visiting them from house 
to hotcse.'' John Wesley. 

* The ministry is the best calling, but the worst trade in the 
worldy Matthew Henry. 



CONTENTS 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF RELIGIOUS OFFICES. 

Ideal of the Christian ministry found in the New Testament. Bet- 
ter comprehended through a consideration of its historical antecedents. 
■ Primeval origin of sacrifices. Probable divine appointment. Symbolic 
• design. Importance of the Patriarchal dispensation. Faith an element 
of the worship it enjoined. Origin, diffusion, and consequences of idol- 
atry. The Jewish priesthood. Symbolism of its office and system of 
worship. The prophets. End of the Mosaic dispensation. The min- 
isterial character of Christ. Its comprehensiveness. Harmony of the 
Messianic offices. Christ a Prophet. The great Teacher. A Fore- 
teller of future events. The priesthood of Christ. Sacrifice and inter- 
cession the great central function of the Messiah. Christ's kingly office. 
No succession to his priesthood possible. . . . page 25 

CHAPTER I. 

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY AS INSTITUTED BY CHRIST, THE HEAD 

OF THE CHURCH AND FOUNDER OF THE NEW 

DISPENSATION. 

Christ alone had the right to appoint whatever services his Church 
might require. Christian ordinances being few and simple, only a spir- 
itual ministry was needed. Christ's example and precepts in the estab- 
lishment of such a ministry authoritative. Calling and instruction of 
khis disciples. First public mission of the Twelve. Mission of the 
Seventy. The moral harvest-field. Mode and authority of Church 
discipline. Tests of character. Ministers must be prepared for per- 
secution. Christ's instruction gradual. Prayers for his ministers. The 
great commission involves the pastoral office. Apostolic idea of the 
ministry. Ordination of Matthias. Apostolic admini.^tration in tlie 
I 



10 CONTENTS. 

Church at Jerusalem. Results. Appointment of deacons. Ordination 
of elders in all the Churches. Paul's address to the elders of Ephesus. 
Peter's exhortation to elders. Apostolic measures for instructing and 
training future ministers. Summary of the Pastoral Epistles. The 
divine call. Personal and ministerial character. Ministerial studies. 
Pastoral influence and Church discipline. Instruction and appointment 
of future ministers. Mosheim's comments on this phase of apostolic 
labor. Scriptural portraiture of the Christian ministry. . page 53 

CHAPTER II. 

THE MINISTERIAL CALL — HISTORICAL VIEW. 

Old Testament examples of the divine call. Christianity employed 
only spiritual agencies for its propagation. Practice of the apostolic 
Church. The call and appointment of Matthias. Of the seven dea- 
cons. Of the apostle Paul. Of the elders of the Churches. Great 
though gradual apostasy of the Church from the true theory of the 
Christian ministry. Adoption of the terms priesthood and priest. En- 
croachments of the hierarchical principle. Unknown to Justin Martyr. 
Developed by Cyprian. Strongly stated by Chrysostom. Enlarged 
and confirmed by the Apostolic Constitutions. Disorders attending 
clerical elections promotive of monasticism. Waste of the best talent 
of the Church during successive centuries. Results of the sacerdotal 
theory. Joint imitation of Judaism and Paganism. Device of the 
mass. Transubstantiation and kindred errors. Dishonor of Christ 
and his perfect sacrifice. Tenacity of the error even in modern times. 
The opposite extreme. Traces of the true theory still left in forms 
of ordination. Gregory of Nazianzen. Pluralities and non-residence. 
Bernard of Clairvaux. The great Reformation reacted in favor of the 
New Testament idea of the ministry. Luther. Calvin. The English 
reformers. The ordination formula of the English Church. Bishop 
Burnet's comments. Rebuke of hypocritical pretenders to a divine 
call. Fletcher of Madeley. Legh Richmond. Deplorable results 
throughout Great Britain. The Wesleyan revival gave great prom- 
inence to the doctrine of a divine call to the ministry. Providential 
guidance of Wesley in regard to the subject. Maxfield. Wiiitefield. 
Results of a just conception of the ministerial call. . page 74 

CHAPTER III. 

THE MINISTERIAL CALL — PRACTICAL VIEW. 

The Christian ministry not a priesthood, but a service to which men 
are called by the Holy Spirit, and also by the Church. Scriptural exam- 
ples. The Holy Spirit calls in divers manners. Different experiences 



CONTENTS. 1 1 

of the apostles and of other true ministers. Different stages of inquiry 
and of conviction. Danger of demanding ultimate convictions at the 
stage of preliminary inquiry. Proper view of minor questions. The 
great central inquiry should be as to God's will. Modes in which God's 
will is indicated. Primary anxiety. The divine impulse real, but not 
compulsory. Analogies of Christian experience. Increased light fol- 
lows obedience, leading to clear and positive conviction of duty. Cor- 
roborative action of the judgment. Dignity and responsibility of the 
office. Personal adaptation depends largely on cultivation. Reason for 
the usual experience of an early call. Moral and spiritual adaptation. 
Motives. Providential guidance. Corroborative action of the Church. 
Coincident experience usual and desirable. Distinction between the 
internal and the external call. Apostate Churches void of spiritual 
authority. Concurrence of reasons. Conviction of duty should be 
followed by zealous preparation. May be expected to increase through- 
out life. The ministry only one among many agencies of Christian 
usefulness page 105 

. CHAPTER IV. 

CLASSIFICATION OF MINISTERIAL DUTIES. — THE TWO GREAT 

FUNCTIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY — 

EVANGELICAL — PASTORAL. 

Duties of the ministry numerous. Embraced in two principal classes. 
Preaching and the pastoral care have a common object, but different 
modes of attaining it. Distinctions. Correspondences. The two func- 
tions separable. Limitation of the pastorate. Preaching diffusive and 
of constant obligation. Specially important as a means of introducing 
the gospel. Illustrated in Christ's example. The pastorate appointed 
near the close of his earthly mission. Ordinances instituted. A plu- 
rality of preachers needed. The disciples and apostles went forth 
to preach two by two. Causes for the division of ministerial labor. 
The Sabbath a special occasion for preaching. Erroneous theories. 
I. Importance and universal adaptation of preaching. 2. Moral and 
perpetual obligation of the preaching office. Evangelism aggressive. 
Fields should be sought. Pastoral work chiefly done on week-days. 
Time to be redeemed for pulpit preparation. The gospel not limited 
by parochial jurisdiction. Ordinations not limited to actual pastors. 
Ministers should not forsake their calling. Ordination contemplates 
both branches of ministerial duty. Scriptural examples. Corruptions 
of the ancient Church. Forced ordinations. Tactual succession. Char- 
acter and results of the theory. Practical unity of evangelical Churches 
as to the practice and design of ordination. Ordination vows and 
charges page 133 



12 CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER V. 

SPECIAL CHARACTER AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PASTORATE. 

Preliminary views. The office anticipated in Judaism and in proph- 
ecy. First fully appointed and established by Christ near the close of 
his earthly mission. Its three watch-words "feed, guide, guard." Its 
continuance in the Church, with variations in different countries, times, 
and circumstances. Characteristic differences in State and voluntary 
Churches. Advantages in the latter. Correspondent though less favor- 
able condition of the New Testament Churches. Scriptural standard 
of pastoral character, i . The pastoi-al character of the Messiah as fore- 
shadcnaed by prophecy. 2. The developed character of Chi'ist as the chief 
shepherd of God''s spiritual fold. The shepherd and the lamb blended 
in Christ. The sheep of Christ's fold to be distinguished by a mark 
upon their foreheads (character). The Church the Lamb's wife. The 
new Jerusalem the eternal home of Christ's ransomed flock. The duty 
of under-shepherds to impress Christ's mark or character upon every 
member of his flock. 3. The appointment of pastors as Chris fs under- 
shepherds. Old Testament allusions. Christ's acceptance and employ- 
ment of the same. His discourse on the shepherd and the sheep. His 
solemn and emphatic charge to Peter. The great commission embodies 
the pastoral idea and perpetuates pastoral obligation, 4. The apostolic 
idea of the pastoral office. Direct precepts. Figurative illustrations 
of pastoral duty, (i.) Teachers. (2,) Watchmen. (3.) Overseers. 
(4.) Fathers. (5.) Builders. (6.) Stewards. The obligation of faith- 
fulness. The responsibility of the pastoral office intensified by, i . The 
divine appointment. 2. The nature of the work. Heretofore regarded 
as a personal agency. Its organic power. Its sufficiency must come 
from God page 153 

CHAPTER VI. . 

QUALIFICATIONS DESIRABLE IN A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 

High and peculiar qualifications demanded. The most important 
classified. I. Experience. I. Of piety. 2. Of a divine call. 3. Of 
Church life and labor — e. g., in Sunday-schools, lay preaching, and 
home missions. 4. Of the power and pleasure of exerting good in- 
fluence. II. Knowledge. Its essential value. Different branches. 
I. Self-knowledge — physical, mental, moral. Helps to self-knowledge. 
Advantages, 2. The knowledge of society and of men. 3, A knowl- 
edge of books. Its necessity. Classes of books. 4, An acquaint- 
ance with theology, (i.) Biblical. (2.) Doctrinal. (3,) Historical. 
(4.) Practical. 5. Skill in the modes and means of using knowledge. 



CONTENTS. 1 3 

Knowledge most valuable for its uses. In education, training and 
discipline superior to mere learning. Different systems of education 
with reference to these objects. The greatest possible combination of 
advantages desirable. Error of those who neglect advantages within 
their reach. Will the Church hereafter tolerate such neglect ? Re- 
sponsibility of ministers and Conferences. Causes of inadequate efforts 
to acquire knowledge. History illustrates the necessity of institutions 
for ministerial education and training. Personal effort necessary to 
profit fully by educational advantages. Institutions should be practical, 
specially in cultivating powers of expression and influence. III. Char- 
acter. Distinguished from reputation. Phases of character. Special 
importance of ministerial character. Demand and scrutiny of the 
Church respecting it. No point of character to be overlooked. Each 
one the architect of his own character. Importance of an exalted ideal 
and of a constant study of character. Fletcher's " Portrait of St. Paul." 
Ministers should study and portray Scripture characters. Historic 
characters. Characters of living men. Character in its essential ele- 
ments. A. Personal traits. Amiability. Dignity. Discretion. Def- 
initeness of aim. Impartiality. Independence. Decision. Energy. 
Perseverance. Courage and hopefulness. B. Religious qualities of 
character. Heavenly-mindedness. Love. Sympathy. Heart-power. 
Increased attention to its importance. Zeal. C. Habits or modes of 
action. Activity and diligence. Accuracy and thoroughness. Prompt- 
ness and punctuality. Self- adaptation. Paul's example. Inventive- 
ness. Consistency. Bishop Ken's portrait of a pastor, Wesley's 
address to the clergy page 177 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE DUTIES OF A PASTOR — PERSONAL. 

Pastoral duties classified. Personal duties arising from physical 
RELATIONS. Importance of physiological knowledge and cultivation. 
Vigorous health. Exercise. Jay. Dempster. Temptations to inac- 
tivity. Danger of feebleness and bad habits. The iviprovement of time. 
Necessity of a plan. Wesley's rules. Specimen of a plan. Mode of 
securing the co-operation of the people. Advantages of a systematic 
distribution of time. Mental Cultivation. Ministerial life favor- 
able to a broad culture. Danger of losing enthusiasm. A sketch. 
Topical study. An important motto. The preparation of sermons. 
Mental productiveness. Thinking to be blended with exercise. Hard 
study recommended. A pastor's library. Topics it should repre- 
sent. A. Ministerial helps. B. Helps to general knowledge. C. Helps 
to thought and mental growth. D. Miscellany. Modern advantages 
in book-buying. Church libraries. Caveat against light literature. 



14 CONTENTS. 

Newspapers, Proper mode of reading. Classification of extracts. 
The pastor's note-book. Its design and uses. Domestic and 

RELIGIOUS duties. PAGE 244 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE DUTIES OF A PASTOR — PUBLIC — OFFICIAL. 

Serial order of treatment proposed. An organized Church prerequi- 
site to the complete ideal of a pastorate. A pastorate equally necessary 
to a complete Church. The pastoral office not essentially modified by 
variations in Church polity. Pastoral economy of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. The itinerancy. Its design and spirit. A new pastor 
FORMING acquaintance. Facilities and helps. Motives for a prompt 
and full acquaintance with all the members of his Church and congre- 
gation. The duty of being social and courteous. Value of kind words. 
Presidency of the leaders' and stewards' meeting. The reception of 
MEMBERS a pastoral responsibilit)'. Argument of Coke and Asbury. 
Probation. The pastor's duty to enroll probationers and diligently in- 
struct them. Reception to full membership. The administration 
OF BAPTISM. To children. Adults. The proper period. Adminis- 
tration OF THE Lord's-Supper. CONFIRMATION a pastoral duty, 
not a sacrament or exclusively episcopal rite. The Church Record. 
Its proper keeping a duty of the preacher in charge. Its importance 
and several departments. Special uses of Church records. Publica- 
tion recommended. The appointment of class-leaders and com- 
mittees. The preservation of order and harmony. The pastor as a 
peace-maker. Church discipline. Pastor's relation to Church tri- 
als. Dismissing and receiving members by certificate. Welcome 
to strangers. page 271 



CHAPTER IX. 

relations and duties of a church to its pastor. 

Duties reciprocal. The pastorate a divine gift. The Scriptures 
indicate the following duties of Churches to pastors : i. To receive 
them gladly and welcome them cordially. Paul's instructions. The 
"open and eifectual door." The humblest members share the respon- 
sibility of a pastor's welcome. 2. To give pastors an attentive and 
reverent hearing. The minister entitled to this in behalf of the Master. 
Consideration due to youthful ministers. 3. To sustain them gener- 
ously. Estimates should be just and liberal, comprehending not only 
family support, but intellectual wants. Church libraries. 4. Churches 
and Church members should love their pastors and pray for thenu 



CONTENTS. 1 5 

5. Should recognize and sustain their spiritual authority. 6. Should 
honor their pastors and guard their reputation. 7. Should co-oper- 
ate with them earnestly in the work of the Lord. 8. Should comfort 
them in affliction, and dismiss them kindly. Justice and liberality to 
superannuated ministers. Mutual duties in a system of pastoral rota- 
tion. PAGE 303 



CHAPTER X. 

THE PASTOR AS A LEADER AND GUIDE OF WORSHIP. 

A pastor's obligations extend beyond his Church members. The 
sanctuary open to all. Universal man a worshiper. Christianity 
adapted to his religious necessities. Errors of ceremonial worship. 
Essential character of true worship. The pastor a recognized leader 
in worship, public and social. Great responsibility arising from this 
position. Requisite preparation. The initiation of worship. Church 
associations should be sacred. Sin of polluting a sanctuary with sec- 
ular amusements and common uses. Possible forms of acceptable 
worship. Principal elements. Singing praise. Its universal obli- 
gation. A pastor's influence upon this branch of worship. Prayer. 
The proJDer attitude. Scriptural exhortation. Responses. Elements 
of edifying extempore prayer. Means of preparation. Its faults. 
Scriptural direction. The Lord's prayer. Reading the Script- 
ures. Modes of rendering this exercise interesting and profitable. 
The holy sacrament as an occasion of worship. Religious objects 
attainable. Prayer-meetings. Their prominence in Wesleyan econ- 
omy. Means of securing attendance and of rendering them profitable. 
Various kinds. Suitable places. Mode of conducting, Skill needed. 
Profitable variations. Modern experiences. Bramwell's rules. Love- 
feasts. Their antiquity and design. Importance of a skillful presi- 
dency. Opposite faults of dullness and excitement. Mutual edifica- 
tion the object. Inquiry-meetings. Special design. Occasions and 
advantages. Pastoral requisites to their success. Class-meetings. 
The pastor should be a good class-leader. Should regularly lead a 
class. Should visit classes. Worship in social assemblies to be pro- 
moted by pastors page 318 



CHAPTER XL 

the PASTOR IN HIS PULPIT. 

Importance of preaching. Its bearing on various activities of the 
Church. Its relation to pastoral duties. Elements of success in 
preaching as part of a pastor's work. i. He must cherish just ideas 



1 6 CONTENTS. 

of the office and responsibility of preaching. 2. An exalted idea of 
the character and results of a sermon. 3. The pastor should practice 
a judicious brevity. 4. He should make sure of variety in subjects and 
modes of treatment. 5. He should practice continuous expositions of 
God's word. Remarks of Crosby, Spurgeon, and Tholuck. 6. He 
should acquire the habit of mentally preparing sermons while doing 
pastoral work. 7. He should deliver his sermons with feehng and 
effect. 8. He should sustain his pulpit utterances by his life and 
example. 9. He should regard prayer an auxiliary of pulpit suc- 
cess. Spurgeon's exhortation. Glorious privileges of a Christian 
pulpit PAGE 342 

CHAPTER XII. 
THE PASTOR IN HIS SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Advantages of a division of Christian labor illustrated in the history 
of Sunday-schools. The Sunday-school idea not new. Embodied in 
the original appointment of the Sabbath. Developed in Judaism. 
More perfectly developed by Christ. Long overlooked by the Church. 
Revived near the close of the Eighteenth Century. The Schools of 
Raikes, secular and philanthropic. Wesley saw that they might be- 
come nurseries for Christians. Gratuitous instruction and Church 
affiliation made them such. The Sunday-school should always be an 
actual and recognized auxiliary of the Church — a part of itself and its 
work. Causes which might put it and the pastor in a false position. 
Special claims of a Sunday-school upon its pastor. His true relation 
to it that of a spiritual overseer. Summary of a pastor's duties to his 
Sunday-school. I. To impress on parents their duties and obligations. 
2. To enlist teachers and show the importance of their work. 3. To 
raise funds. 4. To afd in selecting books and periodicals ; also, 5. Les- 
sons and plans of instruction. 6. To devise plans of improvement. 
7. To address the school and preach to children. 8. To catechise and 
see that children are grounded in Christian doctrine, 9. To maintain 
a teachers' Bible-class. 10. To read up on the Sunday-school enter- 
prise and study its philosophy. 11. To encourage the connection of 
children and teachers with the Church. A pastor should take broad 
views of the design and power of the Sunday-school system. Its aid to 
missions. Its agency in promoting systematic beneficence — in recruit- 
ing the Church. Its promise for the Church and the world. Pastors 
should co-operate with each other in general Sunday-school measures, 
and in securing the cumulative advantages of Sunday-schools. They 
should enlist children for life. They should give to Sunday-schools 
their constant sympathy, solicitude, and co-operation. How to retain 
the larger scholars page 359 



I 



CONTENTS. ly 



CHAPTER XIIL 

THE PASTOR AND HIS SYSTEM OF BOOK, PERIODICAL, AND 
TRACT SUPPLY. 

Importance of making the press auxiliary to pastoral work. Danger 
of its opposite influence. Necessity of warnings against corrupt pub- 
lications, and of instruction with reference to reading as a means of 
Christian improvement. Pastors should encourage the provision of 
good BOOKS and libraries in all Christian families. Our system con- 
templates this work. Recent neglect and its consequences. Remedies 
and means of making them successful. Home colportage. Sin of 
indifference. Religious Periodicals. Motives for their circulation. 
Tract and volume circulation as an agency of evangelization. Pre- 
cedence of Wesley and activity of early Methodists in this cause. Its 
past progress and results full of encouragement to future effort. The 
Church requires pastoral activity in this department. Approved agen- 
cies and methods page 373 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE PASTOR AND HIS LAY HELPERS. 

The Church designed for results, not ceremonies. Internal results 
to be an instrumentality of external growth and power. Messianic 
prophecy and the Savior's commands contemplated both. The apos- 
tolic Church illustrated both. Faithful Churches designed to be work- 
ing Churches. Proof from Christ's addresses to the Seven Churches 
of Asia Minor. Successful labor requires organization. Pastors should 
study the importance and art of organizing successful measures and 
agencies. Duty of furnishing religious employment to Church mem- 
bers. Necessity of system. Comprehensiveness and efficiency of our 
Church system. Its three departments of finance, pastoral aid, and 
home evangelization. I. Finance. Christianity demands liberality in 
giving, also activity in all good works. Requisitions of the Church in 
both regards. Work a means of grace. II. Pastoral and Christian 
helpers. Class-leaders. Means of promoting a general appreciation 
of class-meetings. Of securing a supply of competent leaders. Fe- 
male class-leaders. Their special adaptations. Duty of instructing 
and examining leaders. The higher objects of the class-meeting. Dif- 
ferent necessities of pastoral work in different places. City and coun- 
try. Mission schools. Union efforts. A just catholicity recommended. 
Effective Church action demands cordial sympathy and constant co-op- 
eration between a pastor and his people. The pastor is invested with 
important duties, e. g.: i. To work his own Church system thoroughly. 

2 



1 8 CONTENTS. 

2. To appoint extra committees, as occasion may require. Optionally, 
3- To organize a Christian association within his Church. 4. A read- 
ing circle. 5. A private Prayer Union. 6. A Ladies' and Pastor's 
Christian Union. Importance of enlisting women in the active service 
of Christ. III. Home evangelization. Lay preaching a part of our 
Church system. Its double advantages. The pastor and his lay 
preachers. Open-air preaching. Local preachers' conventions and 
associations. Present desideratum in respect to this agency. Possi- 
bility of increasing its power. Wesley's remark. Praying Bands. Idea 
and character. Their proper work. These agencies not designed to 
relieve the Church as a whole or individual Christians from responsibil- 
ity and active Christian effort. Possible modes of doing good. Cavil 
of an objector. Moral machinery important in its place. Yet only 
valuable as an auxiliary to the work of the Spirit. The duty of mak- 
ing all things subsidiary to the extension of Christ's kingdom. Mag- 
nanimity toward fellow-laborers page 384 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATION TO REVIVALS AND REVIVAL 
AGENCIES. 

The nature of true religion. The necessity and nature of revivals. 
Old Testament examples. Scriptural prayers for revival. Exhorta- 
tions, promises, and prophecies. Christianit}' itself a revival. Christ's 
ministry of a revival type. His precepts and promise of the Holy 
Ghost point to future revivals. Spiritual decline of the ancient Church. 
The Reformation a revival. Methodism a revival. Its historic idea. 
Frequency and prevalence of modern revivals. Ministerial duty to be 
studied in the light and hope of revivals. I. Why should pastors seek 
to promote revivals? I. In order to promote the salvation of men. 

2. In order to promote the work of salvation to a wider extent. 3. Re- 
vivals harmonize with man's wants and God's will. 4. They are of 
great advantage to the Church. Testimony of Edwards, Dr. Sprague, 
Bishop M'llvaine, Wesley, and others. 5. Revivals increase minis- 
terial power. 6. Revivals are the harvest seasons. II. How may 
revivals be promoted? The history of revivals should be stud- 
ied. I. Christian preparation. 2. The outpouring of the Spirit. 

3. Revival preaching. 4. Continuous Christian effort, (i.) Prayer. 
(2.) Christian conversation. (3.) Judicious instruction. (4.) Fervent 
praise. (5.) The activity of young converts. General evangelical 
agencies. A. Protracted meetings. Analogy of the Christian Festi- 
vals. Advantages enumerated. B. Camp-meetings. Origin. Char- 
acter. Prospective continuance. Claims on pastors. C. Daily prayer- 
meetings. III. Means of perpetuating the fruits of revivals. Church 



CONTENTS, 19 

membership. Watch-care, sympathy, and instruction. Methodism 
adapted to pastoral work. Relation and necessity of pastoral work 
to revivals and their best fruits page 419 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PASTORAL VISITING. 

Christianity a social system. Its sociality consecrated to important 
ends, specially in the line of ministerial influence. Pastoral visiting 
theoretically approved, but practically neglected. Analysis of the sub- 
ject. I, The objects to be attained. Not merely social enjoyment, 
but Christian influence. I. With reference to the people. 2. With refer- 
ence to the pastor kifjiself. 11. Scriptural proofs and illustrations of the 
duty. I. The example of Christ. 2. The practice of the apostles. 3. The 
i7tdirect teaching of the Scriptures. III. The best modes of accomplish- 
ing the work and objects of pastoral visitation, i. Preparation — intel- 
lectual, spiritual. 2. Systematic attention to the duty, (i.) A due 
allotment of time. (2.) A proper districting of the field. {3.) Spe- 
cial appointments with families. Distinction between calls and visits. 
(4.) Special attentions to the sick, afflicted, and needy. Elements of 
success in a pastor's visits to the sick, A pastor's rights. Relief for 
the needy. Difficulties considered, IV. Motives for faithfulness in 
pastoral visiting, i. It is essential to full proof of the power and in- 
fluence of the ministry, Wesley's views and experience. Success of 
Methodism. 2. It increases congregations, 3. It creates influence 
and sympathy. 4, It is an essential complement of faithful preaching, 
5. It promotes revivals. It is the work of a shepherd as distinguished 
from that of a hireling, A labor of love, repaid by sympathy and 
increased usefulness page 459 

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE PASTOR IN SOCIETY. 

Society makes claims upon him. False and degraded position of 
English clergymen two hundred years ago. Contrasted position won 
by talents and learning. Daniel Webster's tribute to the clergy of 
America. Different uses of the term society. The pastor should not 
mingle in gay society, but in that of the intelligent, the moral, and the 
religious. Position toward which he should aspire. The influence he 
should exert by his presence, his words, and his example. Kecj)ing 
God's watch. Words from George Herbert. Conversational abilitv. 
Importance and means of acquiring it. Clerical manners. Governing 
principles better than artificial rules. Offensive traits of manner and 



20 CONTENTS. 

character. Undue sensitiveness to be avoided. Charity toward others. 
Readiness to receive hints and corrections. Pastors sustain confiden- 
tial relations to society. The endearments of those relations when 
properly sustained. The pastor in scenes of joy. Of sorrow. Vital 
points at which he touches society. Motives for watchfulness and dis- 
cretion PAGE 481 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS FAMILY.^ 

True Christianity not ascetic. Marriage the law of society. Min- 
isterial exceptions. Churches generally prefer married pastors, but 
only when well married. Serious character of mistakes in matrimony. 
Errors to be avoided. Qualifications demanded in a pastor's wife. 
Traits of character to be cultivated. Motives and means of improve- 
ment. Joint responsibility for mutual and parallel improvement. 
"What is to be desired in a minister's family. The wife's part. Diffi- 
culties of maintaining a model home in ministerial life. Yet necessary 
to do so for personal and public reasons. The family a field of respon- 
sibility and privilege. Well-regulated family life favorable to ministe- 
rial success. Home courtesies demanded from a pastor. . page 493 

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATION TO CHRISTIAN ACTIVITIES AND 
ENTERPRISES. 

The Church has various forms of action, indirect as well as direct. 
The pastor should therefor^ be ready for every good work, but discrimi- 
nate against doubtful measures under any pretense. He should co-op- 
erate with, I. Public charities. 2. The cause of temperance, (i.) Ab- 
staining from all forms of intemperance. (2.) Preaching on the subject. 
(3.) Inculcating it in the Sunday-school. {4.) Encouraging societies. 
(5.) Distributing tracts and pledges. 3. Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciations. Character and relations of these agencies. Elements of suc- 
cess. 4. Domestic missions. Church planting and training. 5. Foreign 
missions. The home pastor should regard the world as his field. Should 
enlist the sympathy and liberality of his Church in its behalf. Means 
to this end. (i.) He should acquire missionary knowledge. (2.) He 
should impart it systematically and perseveringly. (3.) He should, by 
precept and example, encourage liberal giving, self-consecration, lega- 
cies, and prayer. (4.) He should act in unison with the Church at large. 
He may thus most effectually do his own work and rise to the dignity 
and responsibility of his position page 504 



CONTENTS. 21 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATIONS TO EDUCATION, THE PRESS, 
AND THE COUNTRY. 

Modern education an outgrowth of Christianity. The American 
educational system specially indebted to Christian influence. A pas- 
toral privilege and duty to co-operate with educational efforts. Pas- 
tors should visit schools. Should encourage the education of the 
young. Should commend institutions exerting a Christian influence. 
Pastors may often employ the press as an agency of good. Their 
connection with newspapers, secular and religious. Cautions and 
suggestions. Notoriety not to be sought for. No redundance of good 
reading in the world. The preparation of books for Sunday-school 
libraries in strict harmony with the design of preaching and pastoral 
labor. Better qualified than others to know what line of books are 
most needed. Tracts and Tract volumes. Literary labors tributary 
to preparation for the pulpit. Double use of good matter. Mental 
power increased by activity. Political rights and duties of ministers 
in the United States. Proprieties and responsibilities of their posi- 
tion. PAGE 515 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE pastor's RELATION TO CHURCH BUILDING AND CHURCH 
EXTENSION. 

Church edifices a necessity to the advancement and permanence of 
Christianity. The advantages of modern pastors in having churches 
already built for their use. These advantages increase their obligation 
to work for posterity. Church building in America popular and easy, 
but needs leadership. Pastoral responsibility. Not to bear the ma- 
terial burdens of Church enterprises. But i. For good counsel. 2. 
For promoting unity of action. 3. For securing the best practicable 
style of architecture. 4. Avoiding and paying debts. 5. Selecting 
and acquiring sites. Breadth and importance of the church building 
enterprise. Its monumental significance. Characteristic difference 
between church building in America and Europe. Sacred and im- 
portant uses of a church. A place for sacred instruction. Sanctuary 
for the administration of Christian ordinances. Place for funeral so- 
lemnities. The birthplace of souls. Relations of an earthly Church 
to the temple not made with hands. Church extension. Motives that 
should govern in church building. The true design of a church may 
be perverted page 524 



22 CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE pastor's ecclesiastical RELATIONS. 

Various forms of Church polity not necessarily unfriendly to the 
essential unity of Christianity. The true remedy of antagonisms be- 
tween different branches of the general Church. Heart unity, not out- 
ward conformity, the desideratum. Pastors may promote it. They 
should form their Church relations intelligently and permanently. 
They should be true to the system they adopt. Itinerancy, i. In 
harmony with Scripture. 2. Adapted to the wants of humanity. Life- 
long settlements obsolete. Instability of the pastoral relation under 
that system. The demand for variety superior to the theory of settle- 
ments. 3. Hardships of the itinerancy overbalanced by its advantages 
and pleasures. Obligations of itinerant ministers. To their system 
and associates. Fraternal obligations. Preachers' Meetings and Min- 
isterial Associations. Connectional Relations of Presiding Elders and 
Bishops as chief pastors. Relations to neighboring pastors. Claims 
of Christian charity. Ecclesiastical exclusiveness contemptible. A 
pastor's relations to young men called to the ministry. His position 
favorable to the giving of counsel page 532 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

PASTORAL DIFFICULTIES, TRIALS, AND ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

Difficulties are incident to all human circumstances. The pastorate 
not exempt. A pastor may find difficulties in himself. He is sure to 
encounter them without. Oppositions of various kinds. The Scriptu- 
ral idea of the ministry is that of labor — work. Trials are essential 
human discipline. Peculiar trials of the Pastorate. They should nei- 
ther be magnified nor feared. They should be met with courage and 
overcome. Sources of encouragement, i. The nature of the work. 
Distinguished from all others by its immediate relations to the ultimate 
end of human existence. 2. Its present results. A pastor's part- 
nership in a grand system of efforts and results. Only one of 
many workers. Results in society. In legislation. Religious results. 
Founding and establishing Churches, Sunday-schools, and schemes of 
practical benevolence. The conversion of souls. The establishment 
of Christian character. The prosperity of the Church. The triumph- 
ant death of believers. Superiority of these results to all others of 
human attainment, and to the trials and hardships on which they are 
conditioned. Pastors not subjected to greater trials and hardships 
than other men. Peculiarities of a pastor's joy and privilege. 3. The 



CONTENTS. 23 

future rewards of faithful ministers. The crown of glory. Eternal 
brightness. The Lord's welcome. Companionship of glorified fellow- 
laborers. The fruits of personal labor. The partnership of ever- 
multiplying fruitfulness. The unspeakable glory. . . page 549 



APPENDIX. 

PAGE. 

A. Extracts of "The Constitutions of the Holy Apostles," . 561 

B. Bishop Ames on Courtesy, ...... 562 

C. Bishop Morris's Hints to Young Ministers, .... 563 

D. Ladies' and Pastor's Christian Union, .... 564 

E. Praying Bands, . , . 564 



THE 



Christian Pastorate 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF RELIGIOUS OFFICES. 

WHOEVER would understand the true charac- 
ter of the Christian ministry should study its 
ideal in the New Testament of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ. From the teachings of that volume it 
may be seen that there are important distinctions 
between the ministry of the gospel and a priesthood 
of any kind, whether Patriarchal, Pagan, or Jewish. 
That those distinctions may be the better compre- 
hended, it is proper to consider briefly the rise both 
of true and false religions in the world. 

History proves man to have been, from the first, a 
religious being. Every nation of the world has had 
ideas of God and worship. At the period of the cre- 
ation man had direct communion with his Creator. 
As a consequence of transgression his freedom of 
intercourse with God was barred, and he was taught 
to approach his Maker through the agency of sym- 
bolic rites. 

3 25 



I 



26 ADAMIC SACRIFICES. 

While the Scriptures do not definitely state that 
Primeval origin Adam offered sacrifices, they lead us to 

of sacrifices? -^^^^^ ^j^^^ j^^ ^. j . 

1. From the use made of the skins of beasts when 
as yet no permission had been given for the use of 
animal food. 

2. From the fact that his sons, Cain and Abel, 
offered sacrifices, as though in sequence of parental 
precept or example, the one obeying God, the other 
inventing a false way. 

3. From the fact that sacrifice was a universal 
custom of the patriarchs of ancient nations. 

It is difficult, if not impossible, to account for 
Divine ap- thc origiu aud prevalence of sacrifice as 
pointment. ^ leading element of worship throughout 
the world, except by supposing that it was appointed 
to Adam, in immediate sequence of his transgres- 
sion, as a symbolical foreshadowing of that atone- 
ment through which sin was to be forgiven. 

In the early history of the race, when language 
was but imperfectly developed, symbolic actions had a 
significance not easily appreciated at present. Indeed, 
they seem to have been a necessity to the expression 
of sentiments appropriate to the circumstances of 
sinful beings, and for the inculcation of truth adapted 
to their moral recovery. How could the sense of 
guilt be more emphatically expressed than by the 
offering of some valued but innocent animal, whose 
death indicated what was due from the offerer, and 
became at least the figure of a substitute for the sat- 
isfaction required by offended justice.'' No language 
comprehensible at that stage of human history could 



MORAL LESSON. 2/ 

SO fully set forth the deserts of sin and the idea of 
pardon through vicarious substitution as did the rites 
which accompanied the immolation of sacrificial vic- 
tims — the implied or uttered confession, the sprinkled 
blood, the consuming fire — the ascending smoke im- 
pressing the senses and overwhelming the mind with 
mysterious awe. Imagine the impression made when 
the first sacrifice was offered, when our first parents, 
conscious of having sinned, were dismayed by the 
divine rebuke, driven from Eden, and threatened 
with death. Death, as yet, was unknown to their 
experience, save in the moral change that had come 
upon themselves. They were now to have it illus- 
trated before their eyes. Stern authority directed 
the smiting of the lamb which, with endearing inno- 
cence, had sported around them, and behold its 
streaming blood, witness its unavailing cries and its 
struggling agonies ! " When, further, they had to go 
through the remaining process of the sacrifice, their 
hands reluctant, their hearts broken, and their souls 
crushed with the sad consciousness that these horrid 
things were the fruit of their sin, and yet contained 
the hope of their deliverance, who can imagine the 
intensity of their feelings.'^"* 

Yet herein was the moral lesson they were to learn 
themselves and to teach to their children, Dj^ine appro- 
through whom it was to descend through ^^^'°"- 
succeeding generations. There is nothing in the na- 
ture of animal sacrifices to justify the idea that they 
would have been invented and generally practiced 
among men apart from original divine authority. 

*J. Pye Smith on the Sacrifice and Priesthood of Jesus Christ, p. 9. 



28 PATRIARCHAL SACRIFICES. 

Yet it is certain that the approbation of God was 
solemnly given to the sacrifices of Abel, Noah, Job, 
and Abraham, as we can not suppose it would 
have been had such acts sprung from the devices 
of their own hearts. Indeed, the divine acceptance 
may justly be considered as proof of the divine 
appointment, since in matters of religion man has 
not been left to the dictates of his own wild and 
changing fancy, but has been held strictly subject to 
the divine prerogative. The truth stated by Isaiah 
and repeated by our Savior may be accepted as a 
rule of equal and binding force under all dispensa- 
tions : " In vain do ye worship me, teaching for doc- 
trines the commandments of men."* If, therefore, 
we accept the theory that God appointed sacrifice to 
Adam as an acceptable mode of worship, it can read- 
ily be understood that from him it descended through 
the patriarchs to Noah, and that after the flood the 
descendants of Noah practiced, with more or less 
corruption, this custom of their antediluvian fore- 
fathers in the different continents which they pop- 
ulated. Thus the idea of expiatory sacrifice would 
have been handed down to all the nations that sprang 
from them, and we have an adequate explanation of 
the sacrificial customs found in every quarter of the 
globe. 

If, on the other hand, it be supposed that sacrifice, 
instead of having been divinely appointed, was in- 
vented by men, the difficulty of accounting for the 
universality of the practice and the general uniformity 
of its fundamental ideas still remains. This difficulty 

* Isaiah xxix, 13; Matthew xv, 9; Mark vii, 7. 



DESIGN AND POSSIBILITY. 29 

can only be met by supposing that there existed in 
the constitution of humanity some moral necessity 
which prompted or some instinct which guided men 
to acts of worship, of which sacrifice was a frequent, 
if not a uniform outgrowth. This supposition is, in 
fact, necessary to account for the general continuance 
of the custom, even though divinely instituted, and is 
nearly tantamount to the simpler and more compre- 
hensive view that God appointed to men a duty based 
upon the moral necessities of their nature and the 
age of the world in which they lived. Certain it is 
that the ancients of all tribes and nations not only 
practiced the offering of sacrifices, but universally re- 
garded them as significant and efficacious in reference 
to man's highest and eternal interests. No ideas ex- 
pressed in all the writings of antiquity are more defi- 
nite than those of propitiation and pardon secured 
through the offering of sacrificial victims. Hence 
we may conclude that tradition, united with the pre- 
vailing consciousness of guilt and apprehension of 
punishment, diffused and fixed in the minds of men 
the fundamental idea of sacrifice as a propitiatory 
offering, notwithstanding the corruption with which 
it became obscured by the practices of those who 
perverted the knowledge of the true God into super- 
stitious reverence for gods of their own imagining. 
The Patriarchal dispensation is too often over-, 
looked, as though it were of minor importance, and 
only desisrned to be introductory to the 

J ^ -J Iinportance of 

Jewish, whereas it rested on a broader the Patriarchal 
basis than that which succeeded it, and, '^5'^"^^'""- 
had it been fully and faithfully improved, would have 



30 FAITH THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT. 

placed all people in a position as favorable as that 
afterward accorded to the chosen nation. The uni- 
versality of its sacrificial rites was designed to make 
all men familiar with the spirituality of God and the 
promise of a Redeemer. 

Imagine a pure, patriarchal worship every-where 
diffused with the growing populations of the earth, 
every family and tribe honoring God according to 
his original appointment, every patriarch an Abra- 
ham, every king a Melchisedec, and every nation 
anticipating the advent of a coming Deliverer. How 
effectually, if not speedily, might the world have been 
prepared for the restoration of the race to the for- 
feited favor of God ! We are informed in the Epistle 
to the Hebrews — xi, 4 — that the distinguishing excel- 
lence of Abel's sacrifice was faith. Indeed, faith in 
"the promises" "seen afar off" was an essential ele- 
ment of true patriarchal worship. One of the best 
Scriptural explanations of faith is in connection with 
Enoch, who "had this testimony that he pleased God. 
But without faith it is impossible to please him ; for 
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and 
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek 
him." Heb. xi, 6. 

Sacrifice was to the patriarchs the appointed mode 
of coming to God, and its right performance im- 
plied in the worshiper, i. An acknowledgment of 
the divine direction ; 2. His recognition of God's 
promise of the forgiveness of sins through the shed- 
ding of blood ; and, 3. Of the duty of presenting 
himself a living sacrifice — that is, of accompanying 
his outward offering with a sacrifice of the heart to 



THE CORRUPTION OF SACRIFICE, 3 I 

God. It is obvious that such a worship was what 
the world needed, and all that it needed at that stage 
of its history. 

But unhappily "the wickedness of man was great 
in the earth," and " every imagination of origb of idoi- 
the thoughts of his heart was only evil ^*''^" 
continually." That idolatrous corruption was the 
source and center of that wickedness which pro- 
voked the flood, and subsequently brought down the 
divine judgments upon Sodom and the cities of 
the plain, hardly admits of doubt. Yet the severest 
judgments proved insufficient to correct the down- 
ward tendencies of the race. A form of worship 
was, indeed, continued in the offering of sacrifices, but 
God was insulted by their being offered to beings and 
objects entitled neither to worship nor honor. Men 
seemed intent upon the monstrous idea of creating 
gods after their own groveling fancies. Not satisfied 
with the Creator's revelation of himself as a spiritual 
being, they "changed the glory of the incorruptible 
God into an image made like to corruptible man, and 
to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." 
Rom, i, 23, Thus innumerable systems of heathen 
worship were invented, and gods and images without 
number were contrived as objects of adoration, before 
which sacrifices were offered and divine homage paid. 

Out of the custom of sacrifice, whether pure or 
corrupt, sprang the idea and necessity of p^c^an priest- 
priests and a priesthood. At first the ''''°'^- 
father of a family, the chief of a tribe, or the king 
of a nation, officiated in a priestly capacity. But 
with the growth of nations it was natural that a 



32 APOSTOLIC PORTRAITURE. 

class of men should be set apart as priests or sacri- 
ficers. Nor can it be doubted that the process of 
idolatrous corruption was rapidly promoted by the 
agency of appointed or self-constituted priests, who, 
for the sake of gain, or lust, or the vanity of distinc- 
tion, were ever contriving new schemes of error and 
deception, by which "they changed the truth of God 
into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature 
more than the Creator." Rom. i, 25. 

With what graphic fidelity does the apostle por- 
tray the consequences of this wicked perversion! 
I. Intellectually. "Professing themselves to be wise, 
they became fools." 2. Socially. "For this cause 
God gave them up unto vile affections, receiving in 
themselves that recompense of their error which was 
meet." 3. Morally. "And even as they did not like 
to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them 
over to a reprobate mind to do those things which 
are not convenient, being filled with all unrighteous- 
ness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malicious- 
ness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity," 
and such like evil passions and practices. While, 
therefore, the ingenuity of bad men was employed 
in making themselves and others worse, Satan tri- 
umphed in stimulating and multiplying those evil 
devices by which the hearts of men were darkened 
and their minds made insensible to the claims of the 
living God. At that early day did Satan establish 
his kingdom upon earth, and make himself, largely 
through idolatrous agencies, "the god of this world." 

By such combined influences of evit, numberless 
systems of idolatrous worship became diffused among 



ENORMITIES OF HEATHENISM, 33 

the nations of the earth, and yet in all there contin- 
ued some idea of a promised deliverer. Diffusion and 
This idea was often vague, and even cor- consequences. 
rupt, yet it lingered down to the time when the 
wise men of the East were led forth by the star 
of Bethlehem to welcome the infant Savior. 

Nevertheless, the tendency of false religion, even 
though incorporating in itself some elements of truth, 
was to deteriorate in its character and influence. 
Thus men descended from the worship of fire and 
the heavenly bodies to the adoration of loathsome 
beasts and reptiles, from the sacrifice of animals to 
the murderous immolation of human beings, which 
was practiced with indescribable cruelty in every 
principal quarter of the heathen world.* 

Without dwelling upon the enormities of heathen- 
ism and the extent of its apostasy from the patri- 
archal worship, it is sufficient now to observe that 
its growing prevalence in the world a few centuries 
after the flood created the necessity of a second dis- 
pensation or divine appointment of religious wor- 
ship. This commenced with the call of Abraham, 
and culminated in the law and ordinances of Moses. 
The Mosaic dispensation, instead of being offered 
to mankind promiscuously, was committed to a par- 
ticular nation — primarily, indeed, to an individual 
from whom descended a nation — specially called to 
exemplify the divine precepts and to introduce the 
Messiah's kingdom. 

Under the Abrahamic covenant, down to the time 
of Moses, no peculiar forms of worship were instituted 

* See Comfort's " Moral Portrait of Man." 



34 MOSAIC DISPENSATION. 

differing from the patriarchal mode of sacrifice. But 
the miraculous deliverance from Egyptian bondage 
gave occasion for an impressive revelation of the 
great moral law, and also for the prescription of a 
minute ritual of typical worship, designed to fore- 
shadow more definitely the great sacrifice provided 
in the counsels of infinite mercy to be revealed in 
the fullness of time. 

The Mosaic ritual required a specially appointed 
The Jewish pricsthood, culminating in the person and 
priesthood. officc of a high-pricst, who was eminently 
typical of the character and functions of the Messiah 
as an atoning Mediator. In this light the whole 
Jewish ritual assumes a Messianic significance,. while 
numerous events in the history of the nation become 
typical of more important events connected with the 
Christian dispensation. 

Through the agency of Moses, himself a type of 
Christ, the original rite of sacrifice was expanded 
into a system, every part of which portrayed symbol- 
ically the coming and the atonement of "the Lamb 
slain from the foundation of the world." For the 
enactment of the peculiar and complicated ceremo- 
nies of the second dispensation, a whole tribe — that 
of Levi — was set apart to the priesthood, while the 
office of the high-priesthood was confined to a par- 
ticular family — that of Aaron. This ordinance, re- 
quiring a special consecration of the priesthood, and 
prescribing their qualifications and mode of life, was 
full of significance.* It betokened, i. The exclusive 
proprietorship which God saw fit to exercise over the 

*Vide Exodus xxviii. 



DESIGN OF THE JEWISH PRIESTHOOD. 35 

priestly office ; 2. The holiness of character which 
each representative of the office ought to maintain ; 
and, 3. The right of the priest to draw nigh to God 
in propitiatory acts of worship. This right, which 
under the patriarchal system had been common, at 
least to heads of families and of communities, was 
under the second dispensation withdrawn from all 
individuals not of the priestly office, even though 
patriarchs or kings, while sacrifice was limited to a 
single appointed place where the ark of the covenant 
was kept, first in the tabernacle, and afterward in the 
temple. 

Although the Jewish priests were chiefly employed 
in ritualistic services, yet not exclusively. They were 
also designed to be moral and rehgious teachers to 
the extent of illustrating, by their lives and by appro- 
priate expositions of the law, the will of God con- 
cerning the people. 

To what extent the higher ideas symbolized by the 
consecration and office of the Jewish priesthood were 
comprehended and appreciated by either the priests 
or the people can not with certainty be affirmed. 
That they were designed to be understood and might 
have been by all true Israelites is obvious ; that they 
actually were comprehended by many in each suc- 
cessive generation is the inference of charity, and yet 
that many of the priests, as well as of the people, 
were unfaithful to their high calling became a matter 
of oft-repeated record. But, criminal as was this un- 
faithfulness, it was not allowed to bring the counsels 
of God to confusion. 

To supplement the priesthood, and to improve 



36 PROPHETIC OFFICE SUPPLEMENTARY, 

upon its moral character, prophets were raised up to 
occup}^ an intermediate position between 

The prophets. 

the material and ceremonial dispensation 
of Moses and the purely spiritual dispensation of 
Christ. They, in a far stronger manner than the 
priests of their nation, testified of the coming Mes- 
siah, and illustrated an important office which he was 
to bear — that also of a prophet. While, therefore, 
the priests were designed to symbolize the priestly 
office of the Savior and the prophets his prophetic 
functions, the prophets especially gave witness of his 
kingly office, styling him the King of Zion and the 
Prince of Peace. 

Thus it was that, by a series of sacred institutions 
and offices, the way of the Lord was prepared, and 
the Savior of men was introduced as the promised 
Shiloh to whom ''the gathering of the nations" 
should be. 

As all shadows fade away in the diffiision of a 
perfect and all-surrounding light, and as 

End of the Mo- ^ _ . . 

saic dispensa- all typcs disappear before their appointed 
antitypes, so in the actual coming of the 
Messiah the Jewish dispensation was brought to an 
end. In the offering of the great and only availing 
sacrifice which it was the office of all true antece- 
dent sacrifices to prefigure, the whole institution of 
sacrifices was brought to a close, and with it that 
of a sacrificing priesthood. Henceforth, as there was 
to be no more sacrifice for sin, emblems were no 
longer required to foreshadow such a sacrifice, nor 
any order of men to maintain a prefigurative ceremo- 
nial. On the contrary, the promise of an all-sufficient 



MINISTERIAL CHARACTER OF CHRIST, 37 

sacrifice for the sins of tlie world which had been 
set forth during ages of types and prophecy having 
now become fact, the great work of all ministers 
of the true religion would necessarily be to make 
known the character and offices of the Redeemer 
actually manifested and "able to save to the utter- 
most all that come unto God by him." This change 
from priestly to ministerial service corresponded to 
that glorious provision of the Christian dispensation 
which confers upon every true believer a spiritual 
priesthood — that is, the right, previously limited to 
patriarchs and priests, of offering full and perfect 
worship to God whenever pleading the merit of the 
atoning blood. 

In order to a just conception of the religious 
ofBces of the Christian dispensation, it is necessary 
to conceive clearly and correctly of The Ministe- 
rial Character of Christ. A summary state- 
ment of that important subject seems, therefore, to 
be required in this connection. 

The ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ upon earth 
was not limited to a single phase of character. On 
the other hand, he in whom "all fullness dwelt" 
illustrated the highest perfection of the several char- 
acters involved in his Messiahship, especially those 
of Prophet, Priest, and King. Nor did these charac- 
ters in any degree conflict with each other. 

■' '^ Harmony ot 

On the contrary, they blended together in the Messianic 

beautiful harmony, and jointly co-operated 

for the full accomplishment of our Savior's glorious 

mission. 

The prophetic office of the Messiah was first in 



38 MESSIANIC OFFICES ETERNAL, 

order, as an appropriate introduction to that of the 
great High-Priest of our profession, while his kingly 
functions were only assumed in full after his resurrec- 
tion and ascension. As a prophet Christ connected 
his mission with that of Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, and 
all the true seers of Israel. As a priest he fulfilled 
all the types of fornler dispensations, and by the 
offering of himself made the one only availing sac- 
rifice for the sins of the world. As the Prince of 
Peace he founded an everlasting kingdom, and of the 
increase of his dominion there is to be no end. 

None of these phases of Messianic character were 
limited to the Savior s earthly sojourn. Plis prophetic 
office still remains to give authority to revealed truth, 
to send forth and accompany its living teachers, and 
to sanction and supplement their work by the gift of 
the Holy Ghost. His priestly office culminated not 
in the offering of Calvary — great and glorious as that 
work was, it was part of his humiliation — but in his 
exalted character as Mediator and Intercessor "on the 
right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heav- 
ens." As a king his earthly crown was composed of 
thorns. In his exaltation he not only reigns King 
of saints, but sways the scepter of dominion over 
the principalities and powers of the heavenly world. 

As related to the spread of his kingdom upon 
earth, his own teaching, office, and that of his min- 
isters rises superior to the power of the sword or 
the onset of armed hosts. His priestly functions are 
reserved to himself As from the period of his suf- 
fering upon the cross there remained no more sacri- 
fice for sin, no legitimate priesthood could any longer 



AN IMPORTANT STUDY. 39 

exist upon earth. Hence his disciples were not called 
to be priests, but ministers of the New Testament, 
servants of the heavenly King, heralds of the salva- 
tion secured through his everlasting priesthood and 
eternal sacrifice, and pastors of the flock of whom 
it is his "Father's good pleasure to give them the 
kingdom." 

Ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ should study 
well these several phases of his character as a means 
of discriminating clearly between those human func- 
tions of the Messiah in which it may be their duty 
to follow in his steps, and those divine offices in 
which all attempts at imitation are grossly sacri- 
legious. 

Among the earliest distinct prophecies of a coming 
Messiah given to the children of Israel Christ a 
was that recorded by Moses — Deuteron- p^op^^^- 
omy xviii, 15:" The Lord thy God will raise up unto 
thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy breth- 
ren like unto me ; unto him shall ye hearken." The 
triumphant quotation of this prophecy, both by Peter 
at the Pentecost, and by Stephen before the high- 
priest and the council at Jerusalem, completed the 
identification of Jesus of Nazareth as the Prophet 
foretold by Moses. 

Prophecy, as illustrated in the Scriptures, involves 
two principal and leading functions — the office of in- 
struction and the foretelling of future events. These 
functions were more or less blended together in the 
character of the Jewish prophets, and also developed 
in greater proportions at different periods and by dif- 
ferent individuals. Moses, the great leader of Israel, 



40 CHRIST THE IMMANUEL, 

has been denominated the prophet of the law, since 
his most prominent work was the promulgation of 
God's will as to human duty. Nevertheless, Moses 
prophesied of Christ, distinctly predicting his advent 
and office, while the ceremonial law, in all its partic- 
ulars, was designed to prefigure the Mediator of the 
new covenant and his work. 

Each of the greater and minor prophets of the 
Jews had some striking characteristic more or less 
prefigurative of the prophetical character of Christ. 
Thus, as Moses declared the will of God uttered on 
Sinai, so Christ brought to the world God's message 
of love in the everlasting Gospel, which is "the law 
of the Spirit of life." If Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha 
were the prophets of God's vengeance against idola- 
try and sin, so Christ came to denounce the divine 
wrath against every form of iniquity, even though 
concealed in the thoughts and desires of the heart. 
If Isaiah was the evangelical prophet, Christ was 
himself the promised Immanuel. If Jonah was the 
prophet of repentance and Jeremiah the prophet of 
tears, Christ was greater than Jonah in preaching 
repentance to the Jews, and greater than Jeremiah 
in weeping over the coming doom of Jerusalem. If, 
amid the rigors of foreign captivity, Ezekiel was a 
prophet of consolation and Zechariah a prophet of 
the restoration of Israel, so Christ predicted not 
only tribulation to his followers, but a glorious deliv- 
erance in the end, and the reward of blessedness in 
heaven. If Malachi was a prophet of the second 
temple, so Christ was the prophet of the new cove- 
nant, and the promiser of the New Jerusalem, and 



THE GREAT TEACHER, 



41 



of the temple of God "made without hands, eternal 
in the heavens." 

When upon earth Christ proved himself to be 
indeed "a teacher sent from God," and Christ as a 
as the ages roll along the world more '^^^<^^^*'- 
distinctly recognizes him as by eminence the Great 
Teacher. In this capacity his work was both im- 
portant and manifold. He authoritatively explained 
and illustrated the connection between the old and 
the new dispensations, and, as in the sermon on the 
mount, showed how the law merged into the gospel, 
and how the gospel improved upon the law. In 
conformity with the gospel scheme, he introduced 
the new law and gave the new commandment of 
love. Also, in accordance with antecedent prophecy, 
he himself proclaimed the glad tidings of great joy 
designed for all people, announcing liberty to the 
captives of sin, and the opening of the prison-doors 
to the bondmen of Satan. As a teacher Christ spake 
as never man spake, and his words were confirmed to 
those present by the miracles which he wrought, and 
to all subsequent ages by his predictions of future 
events. 

While his prophetic utterances differed from most 
of the prophecies of former ages in relating to events 
near at hand, they were also characterized by the 
orderly and specific manner in which he detailed cir- 
cumstances which could only have been foreseen by 
the eye of omniscience. Thus, with historic minute- 
ness, he foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the 
dispersion of the Jewish nation. With equal signifi- 
cance, under the figure of a temple, he foretold his 



42 GF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH. 

own crucifixion, and his resurrection on the third 
day. He made known to his disciples the distresses 
and persecutions which awaited them, but at the 
same time cheered them with the assurance of the 
certain estabUshment and ultimate triumph of his 
kingdom upon earth, and the everlasting reward of 
its subjects in the life to come. Christ also foretold 
the fact of his own second coming at the end of the 
world, and portrayed as no other prophet ever could 
do the fact and the scenes of the future judgment. 
Christ's prophetic office was continued after his as- 
cension in the gift of direct inspiration to the apos- 
tles, and in the bestowment of the Holy Ghost as a 
comforter and guide for his true followers to the end 
of time. 

But when, in the fullness of time, God sent his 
ThePriesthood Son to rcdccm the world, he not only 
ofchnst. g^^,g j^lj^ ^Q ^g ^ prophet and a teacher — 

he also created him a priest. The Epistle to the 
Hebrews gives us full and specific instruction in ref- 
erence to the priesthood of Christ. He was not a 
Jewish priest after the law of a carnal command- 
ment, and hence not of the tribe of Levi, but of the 
tribe of Judah. He was not of the order of Aaron, 
raised up for a ceremonial ser\dce, but of the order 
of Melchisedec, who combined the priestly and the 
kingly office in one person, and was thus superior to 
Abraham. "After the similitude of Melchisedec," he 
received special appointment from the most high God, 
and as, in a modified sense, Melchisedec was a priest 
forever, being the last of his class, so Christ, in an 
absolute sense, was made a "high-priest forever," 



GLORIOUS TITLES. 43 

"after the power of an endless life." The patriarchal 
and Jewish priesthoods, those of Melchisedec ancf 
Aaron, were designed to prefigure the priesthood of 
Christ, and ultimately to merge in that office as not 
only superior to both, but as the only office of intrin- 
sic value in the great plan of redemption. They 
were symbolical, their highest virtue being "to serve 
unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." 
" But now he [Christ] hath obtained a more excellent 
ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a 
better covenant, which was established upon better 
promises." Hebrews viii, 6. 

The Scriptures apply to our Lord Jesus Christ 
various terms indicating the dignity and the essen- 
tial importance of his priestly office. They speak of 
him as a "priest," and affirm the unchangeability, as 
well as the eternity, of his priesthood. They also 
call him the "High-Priest," "the Apostle and High- 
Priest of our profession," "a great High-Priest," "an 
High-Priest higher than the heavens," "Minister of 
the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the 
Lord pitched and not man," "the Surety of a better 
covenant," "He that sanctifieth," "our Forerunner," 
"Mediator," "Intercessor," "Savior," and "the Au- 
thor and Finisher of our faith." Such a priest- 
hood, having been planned in the economy of grace 
and regarded as efficacious "from the foundation 
of the world," may be pronounced the first, only, 
and everlasting agency of man's redemption. But 
not only was the office created and assumed ; its 
contemplated function was fulfilled. In the capacity 
of such a High-Priest Christ made a sacrifice of 



44 CHRISrS HUMILIATION. 

himself to put away the sins of the world. Hebrews 
Ix, 26. 

Christ's sacrifice may be said to embrace the aggre- 
christ's sacri- gatc of his humiliation, insults, and suffer- 
^^^- ings while upon earth. Although "being 

in the form of God, and thinking it not robbery to 
be equal with God," he humbled himself in the in- 
carnation "in the likeness of men," that he might 
become "obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross" — that is, a death of sacrifice. In pursuance 
of this great and benevolent design "he made him- 
self of no reputation, and took upon him the form of 
a servant." He was "born in a manger," he was 
"dressed in swaddling-clothes." "He was tempted 
of the devil." Though he "went about doing good" 
and fulfilling all righteousness, "he endured great 
contradiction of sinners." Christ "pleased not him- 
self," but bore meekly the reproaches of the ungodly. 
Having come "to give his life a ransom for many," 
he had a fearful "baptism to be baptized with," and 
"he was straitened until it was accomplished." "It 
pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to 
grief" when "his soul was made an offering for sin." 
In Gethsemane, "being in an agony, he prayed more 
earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops 
of blood falling down to the ground." Thus he 
poured out his soul unto death, and, though inno- 
cent, "was numbered with the transgressors, that he 
might bear the sin of many." 

But it is specially to be observed that Christ's 
sacrifice culminated in his ignominious death. He 
"died for our sins according to the Scriptures." As 



HIS SHED BLOOD. 45 

"our Passover he was sacrificed for us." i Cor. v, 7. 
" Christ died for the ungodly. . . . While we were 
yet sinners Christ died for us." Romans v, 6, 8. 
" Christ loved us, and hath given himself for us, an 
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling 
savor." "By the suffering of death he by the grace 
of God tasted death for every man, that through 
death he might destroy him that had the power of 
death, that is the devil." Heb. ii, 14. 

He it was "that came from Edom, with dyed gar- 
ments from Bozrah." "He was red in his apparel, 
and he trod the wine-press alone." "Surely he bore 
our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded 
for our transgressions, and by his stripes we were 
healed." (See Isa. Ixiii and liii.) In all these dis- 
tresses he was the Messiah of prophecy that was to 
be "cut off, but not for himself," but rather that he 
might "confirm the covenant with many," and cause 
the whole routine of " sacrifice and oblation to cease." 
Daniel ix, 26. " He laid down his life for the sheep." 
"The cup which his Father gave him he drank." 
" He laid down his life that he might take it again." 
"No man took it from him, but he laid it down of 
himself" "He purchased the Church of God with 
his own blood." "That he might sanctify the people 
with his own blood, he suffered without the gate." 
Heb. xiii, 12. 

As "without the shedding of blood there could 
be no remission" of sins, and as we could not be 
redeemed with corruptible things, Christ offered in 
our behalf "his own precious blood." Hence all 
the redeemed from under the several dispensations 



46 THE CRUCIFIXION, 

will ultimately be enabled to join in praise and 
thanksgiving "unto Him that loved iis and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood," saying, "Thou 
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy 
blood." Rev. v, 9. 

As reahty usually differs from ceremony, so it is 
not wonderful that the sacrificial offering of our 
great High-Priest was far removed from the forms 
with which typical sacrifices had been invested. 
Jews and Gentiles, the multitude of Jerusalem and 
the soldiery of Rome, participated in the outward 
act of the Savior's crucifixion, and yet his life was 
voluntarily surrendered with a prayer for the forgive- 
ness of those murderers whose joint act represented 
the wide world. By this coincidence not only the 
reality, but the extent of the atonement, was sig- 
nificantly set forth in accordance with the apostolic 
statement that " He is a propitiation for our sins, 
and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole 
world." I John ii, 2. 

Although human wisdom could never have devised 
such a plan, yet in its execution we may see its 
adaptation to the great object of man's redemption 
in many particulars. It maintained the claims of 
divine justice against the transgressors of a holy 
law, and thus upheld the honor and majesty of the 
divine government. In so doing it opened a way 
for the exercise of mercy toward sinners, enabling 
God at once to be "just and yet the justifier of him 
that believeth in Jesus." Having thus become a \ 
broad and solid foundation for the overtures of the 
gospel to a ruined race, the sacrificial death of 



THE EXALTATION. 47 

Christ was at once recognized by the apostles and 
early Christians as the great center of that system 
of truth designed to make men free from the bond- 
age of error and the power of Satan. 

Although in his one offering on the cross Christ 
forever perfected his atonement for sin, yet conform- 
ably to the analogy of the Jewish high-priest, who 
entered once every year into the holy place with 
the blood of sacrificial victims, Christ entered "into 
heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God 
for us." Thus it was in the character of a sacrificing 
and accepted High-Priest that Christ was exalted as 
a Mediator at God's right hand. In that capacity 
he is the "Mediator of the New Testament," thus 
fulfilling the office which he affirmed of himself, 
saying, " I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; 
no man cometh unto the Father but by me," John 
xiv, 1 6. 

But our risen and ascended Savior not only acts as 
a mediator in our behalf, but also as an intercessor. 
The apostle Paul says, Romans viii, 14, "Who also 
maketh intercession for us ;" and, Hebrews vii, 25, 
"Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost 
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to 
make intercession for them." Thus from the word 
of God it appears that the priestly functions of our 
exalted Savior are those by which our salvation is 
provided and eternally secured. 

This scriptural view of the actual and perpetual 
priesthood of Christ is in itself a complete refutation 
of all theories of a continued human priesthood under 
the Christian dispensation, save in the spiritual privi- 



48 THE END OF SACRIFICE. 

lege conferred upon all true believers of being kings 
and priests unto God. Rev. i, 6 ; v, lo. 

Christ appointed no officiating priests for the rea- 
son that following him there was no occasion for 
priestly services. He chose, taught, and trained dis- 
ciples, and when, after his resurrection and before 
his ascension, all power had been given unto him in 
heaven and in earth, he commissioned them to go 
into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature. He commanded them to "go teach all 
nations," to "feed his lambs," and to "feed his 
sheep," but in no word nor by the remotest allusion 
did he intimate the propriety or the possibility of 
their assuming sacerdotal functions or titles. 

To complete a just view of the offices and author- 
ity of Christ as the Messiah, we must briefly regard 
him as a prince and a king, as well as a prophet and 
a priest. 

The prophetic annunciations of the kingly office 
Christ's kingly of thc Mcsslah had been so numerous and 
office. specific that the Jews not only accepted it 

as a nation, but contented themselves, in view of it, 
to lose sight of the corresponding offices the Messiah 
was to sustain. Indeed, they allowed their selfish 
and carnal hopes so to distort their expectations of 
the regal character of the Messiahship as to render 
them unable to recognize its true characteristics when 
manifested. Although during the humiliation of the 
Son of God a veil was thrown over his kingly office, 
yet that office, which was to be fully assumed in due 
time, was clearly asserted from the moment of his 
incarnation. 



THE KING OF ZION. 49 

When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary the 
birth of Jesus, it was distinctly declared, "And he 
shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of 
his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke i, 33. 
"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, be- 
hold there came wise men from the East to Jerusa- 
lem, saying. Where is he that is born King of the 
Jews?" Matthew ii, 2. 

John records a significant popular tribute to the 
royal character of Christ, notwithstanding the preju- 
dices of the leaders among the Jews. " Much people 
that were come to the feast, when they heard that 
Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of 
palm-trees and went forth to meet him, and cried, 
Hosanna, blessed is the King of Israel that cometh 
in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had 
found a young ass, sat thereon ; as it is written, Fear 
not, daughter of Zion ; behold thy king cometh sit- 
ting on an ass's colt." John xii, 12-16. 

The disciples themselves were slow to comprehend 
the full glory of the Savior's character, but as his 
earthly career drew near its close they were enabled 
more clearly to discern the King in his lowliness. 
On one occasion "when he was come nigh, even now 
at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole 
multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise 
God for all the mighty works that they had seen, 
saying. Blessed be the King that cometh in the 
name of the Lord ; peace in heaven and glory in 
the highest." Luke xix, 37. 

In various ways Christ himself asserted his own 
kingly character. He repeatedly spoke of his king- 

5 



50 A PRINCE AND A SAVIOR. 

dom. In predicting the final judgment he said, 
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, 
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit 
upon the throne of his glory." Matthew xxv, 31. 
"And Jesus stood before the governor, and the gov- 
ernor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the 
Jews ? And Jesus said unto him. Thou sayest." 
Matthew xxvii, 11. "Pilate therefore said unto him, 
Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou say- 
est that I am a king. To this end was I born, for 
this end came I into the world, that I should bear 
witness unto the truth." John xviii, 37. "And Pilate 
wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writ- 
ing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 
John xix, 22. 

From and after the descent of the Holy Spirit on 
the day of Pentecost the disciples had a clearer con- 
ception than before of all the glories of the Savior's 
character, and did not scruple to proclaim them, not 
excepting his kingly office. Peter declared unto the 
multitude the prophecy of David that God "would 
raise up Christ to sit on his throne," saying unto 
them, "Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and 
desired a murderer to be granted unto you ; and 
killed the Prince of Life whom God hath raised from 
the dead, whereof we are witnesses." Acts iii, 15. 
With equal clearness, on another occasion, the same 
apostle declared of Jesus, "Him hath God exalted 
with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior to 
give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." 
Acts V, 31. 

Paul in his epistles makes repeated and striking 



THE KING OF GLORY, 5 I 

allusions to the exaltation of Christ and to his king- 
dom, declaring his superiority not only to men, but 
to angels. "Of the angels he [God] saith, Who 
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame 
of fire. But unto the Son he saith. Thy throne, O 
God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness 
is the scepter of thy kingdom." Heb. i, 7, 8. John 
in the Revelation foresees the day when "the king- 
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever." 
Rev. xi, 15. He also declares him to be "Lord 
of lords and King of kings." xvii, 14. "And he 
hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, 
King of kings, and Lord of lords." xix, 16. 

When this our glorious King "ascended up on 
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto 
men. . . . And he gave some apostles, and 
some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pas- 
tors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for 
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body 
of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, 
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a 
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ." Eph. iv, 8, 11-13. 

But among all these great gifts no mention is 
made of a priesthood of any form or de- no succession 
gree. Thus we see that all the Messianic lX>^ 
offices harmonize in the grand idea of a or possible. 
completed and sufficient sacrifice for man's redemp- 
tion, following which there was neither necessity 
nor propriety for the continuance of a priestly office 
upon earth. Hence it may be safely inferred that, 



52 PRIESTHOOD A USURPATION. 

by whomsoever the name and pretense of a hie- 
rarchical or sacrificing priesthood has been introduced 
into the Christian Church, it has been done without 
authority, and by a blasphemous intrusion upon the 
office and prerogative of the Savior of mankind. Nor 
is it strange that such a pretense, whenever success- 
fully imposed upon the credulity of professing chris- 
tians, whether in ancient or modern times, has been 
followed by the corruption of Christianity and the 
many evils attendant upon that unhappy result. 



CHRISTS ORDINANCES. 53 



CHAPTER I. 

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY AS INSTITUTED BY 

CHRIST, THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH AND 

FOUNDER OF THE NEW DISPENSATION. 

THE foregoing sketch brought us to that great 
event of the world's history which antecedent 
prophecy had so long foretold — the manifestation 
of the Redeemer of mankind, to whom all types, 
whether in offices or in ordinances, had pointed from 
the moment of the fall. From that period every 
Christian must recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as 
the sole and authoritative head of his own Church. 
That Church is the kingdom of God, which he intro- 
duced and established among men. In him we also 
discern the inherent and regal right of prescribing 
whatever ordinances or offices were necessary to the 
extension and perpetuation of the Church in the 
world. 

As to ordinances, we find that he only appointed 
baptism, to be the initiatory rite of the Church, and 
the Lord's-Supper as a sacred commemoration of his 
own death after the ancient manner of celebrating 
one of its principal types, the Passover. These sim- 
ple but solemn ordinances were designed to substitute 
forever the ceremonial ritualism of the Jews, to which 
there no longer remained any significance except in 



54 THE CALLING OF HIS DISCIPLES. 

retrospect. But for their celebration no priesthood was 
required, consequently none was appointed. Christ's 
disciples came not from the tribe of Levi, and upon 
the apostles there was enjoined only a spiritual min- 
istry specially adapted to the propagation of the truth 
and the edification of the Church. Herein the supe- 
riority of the Christian system appears. A ritualistic 
priesthood necessarily revolved about the altar of the 
tabernacle or the temple. The Christian ministry 
was free to go to the ends of the earth, and, indeed, 
was commanded to go "into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature." 

In respect to the proper character and functions of 
the ministry of the New Testament, nothing can be 
so instructive and authoritative as our Savior's own 
example and precepts. 

Among the earliest acts of his public ministry was 
the calling of his disciples. In Matthew iv, 18-21, 
we have this interesting record : *'And Jesus, walking 
by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called 
Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the 
sea, for they were fishers. And he saith unto them. 
Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And 
going on from thence he saw other two brethren, 
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, and 
he called them." These instances of individual call- 
ing are doubtless examples of what occurred in the 
case of the other disciples. That of Matthew is re- 
corded Matthew ix, 9. 

After having chosen and called his disciples, the 
Savior proceeded to give them instruction, and to 
clothe them with power for their work. In fact, no 



THEIR INSTRUCTION. 55 

inconsiderable portion of Christ's earthly ministry 
had a primary, if not in all cases a direct reference, 
to the instruction of the twelve disciples preparatory 
to their being commissioned as his apostles. He 
instructed them in the great principles of revealed 
truth, in the nature of the kingdom of heaven, and 
the means of promoting it. He taught them by daily 
intercourse and conversation, by expositions of the 
word and providence of God, by miracle and proph- 
ecy, and by his own constant example as a preacher 
and "a teacher sent from God," and he expressly 
commanded them, "What I tell you in darkness that 
speak ye in the light, and what ye hear in the ear, 
\i. e., privately,] that preach ye upon the housetops." 
Nor was his instruction to the twelve merely theoret- 
ical. After a period of preliminary training he gave 
them work to do in co-operation w^ith himself As 
the demonstration of his true Messiahship was an 
important part of his personal mission, so he endowed 
them to some extent with miraculous powers, to be 
employed for the welfare of men and the conviction 
of the people. 

"And when he had called together unto him his 
twelve disciples, he besjan to send them 

^ ^ First public 

forth by two and two, and gave them missio^i of the 
power against unclean spirits to cast them 
out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all man- 
ner of disease. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and 
commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the 
Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter 
ye not ; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house 
of Israel, and as ye go preach, saying. The kingdom 



56 THEIR MINISTRY. 

of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick> cleanse the 
lepers, cast out devils ; freely ye have received, freely 
give. . . . He that receiveth you receiveth me, 
and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent 
me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a 
prophet shall receive a prophet's reward." Mat. x, 
1-8, 40, 41. 

Subsequently, as if to show that the Christian min- 
Mission of the istry was not to be limited to the apostles, 
seventy. ^j^^ Savior appointed seventy of his other 

disciples, and gave them instructions for a similar 
mission. "After these things the Lord appointed 
other seventy also, and sent them two and two before 
his face into every city and place whither he himself 
would come." "And the seventy returned again with 
joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us 
through thy name. . . In that hour Jesus rejoiced 
in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, that thou 
hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and 
hast revealed them unto babes : even so, Father, for 
so it seemed good in thy sight." Luke x, i, 17, 21. 

Aside from instructions on special occasions, the 
Savior's frequent precepts in reference to ministerial 
duty were luminous and emphatic. "Say not ye 
The moral har- thcrc are yct four months, and then com- 
vest-fieid. g^j^ harvest } Behold I say unto you, Lift 

up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are 
white already to the harvest. And he that reapeth 
receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life eternal; 
both he that soweth and he that reapeth rejoice 
together." John iv, 35, 36. "Then saith he unto 
his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the 



THEIR AUTHORITY. 57 

laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the 
harvest that he will send forth laborers into his har- 
vest" Matthew ix, 37, 38. 

"Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against 
thee, go and tell him his fault between Mode and au- 
him and thee alone ; if he shall hear thee, chrrch ° disd- 
thoii hast gained thy brother. But if he p'™^- 
will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two 
more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses 
every word may be established ; and if he shall neg- 
lect to hear them, tell it unto the Church ; but if he 
neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as 
a heathen man and a publican ; verily I say unto 
you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound 
in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew xviii, 15-18. 

When examined in its proper connection and scope 
this oft-perverted passage explains itself as convey- 
ing neither more nor less than a judicious pastoral 
authority for the government of the Church upon 
earth, which is the appointed agency of human train- 
ing for a home in heaven. 

"Abide in me, and I in you ; as the branch can 
not bear fruit of itself except it abide in Tests of chai- 
the vine, no more can ye except ye abide ^^*^''- 
in me. I am the vine ; ye are the branches. He 
that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth 
forth much fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing. 
. . . If ye abide in me, and my words abide in 
you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done 
unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye 
bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. , . . 



58 THEIR INSTRUCTIONS. 

Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant 
knoweth not what his lord doeth ; but I have called 
you friends, for all things that I have heard of my 
Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not 
chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, 
that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your 
fruit should remain ; that whatsoever ye shall ask of 
the Father in my name, he may give it you. These 
things I command you, that ye love one another." 
John XV, 4-17. "A new commandment I give unto 
you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, 
that ye also love one another. By this shall all men 
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one 
to another." John xiii, 34, 35. 

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me 
before it hated you. If ye were of the 

Ministers must "^ 

be prepared for world, thc world would lovc his owu ; but 
because ye are not of the world, but I 
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the 
world hateth you. Remember the word that I said 
unto you. The servant is not greater than his lord. 
If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute 
you. . . . But this cometh to pass, that the word 
might be fulfilled that is written in their law; They 
hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter 
is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, 
he shall testify of me ; and ye also shall bear witness, 
because ye have been with me from the beginning." 
John XV, 18-27. 

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but 
ye can not bear them now. Howbeit when he, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all 



CHRIST S PRAYER. 59 

truth: ... he will show you things to come. 
He shall e^lorify me: for he shall receive _ . , . 

^ -^ Christ s in- 

of mine, and shall show it unto you. All stmctionsgrad- 
things that the Father hath are mine : 
therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall 
show it unto you." John xvi, 12-15. 

"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes 
to heaven, and said. Father, the hour is prayer for his 
come ; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also ™""st^''s- 
nay glorify thee: ... I have manifested thy 
name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the 
world ; thine they were, and thou gavest them me ; 
and they have kept thy word. Now they have known 
that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of 
thee. For I have given unto them the words which 
thou gavest me ; and they have received them, and 
have known surely that I came out from thee, and 
they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray 
for them. . . . Sanctify them through thy truth : 
thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the 
world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 

. . Neither pray I for these alone, but for them 
also which shall believe on me through their word ; 
that they all may be one ; as thou. Father, art in me, 
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that 
the world may believe that thou hast sent me." John 
xvii, 1-2 1. 

The institution of the supper of our Lord has 
been claimed by the Roman Catholic Church^' as an 
appointment of the apostles to a priestly office, and 
to the task of offering sacrifices. In what absolute 

* See page 92. 



60 DISCIPLES TO BE WITNESSES. 

contrast to such assumptions is the simple and con- 
current narrative of the evangehsts and the apostle : 
"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, 
and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which 
is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying. This cup 
is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for 
you." Luke xxii, 19, 20. See also Matt, xxvi, 26, 
27; Mark xiv, 22-24; ^^<i i Cor. xi, 23-25. These 
passages of themselves sufficiently refute any such 
forced and absurd interpretation, which, indeed, is 
equally at variance with the whole tenor of Scripture. 

Not seeking to multiply quotations, we pass over 
the period of our Lord's passion, crucifixion, and res- 
urrection, and come to his interview with the eleven 
disciples as they sat at meat, when he sought to 
inspire them with broader views of his mission and 
of their own duty than they had been prepared to 
receive before. 

"And he said unto them, These are the words 
which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, 
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written 
in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the 
psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their under- 
standing, that they might understand the Scriptures, 
and said unto them. Thus it is written, and thus it 
behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead 
the third day: and that repentance and remission 
of sins should be preached in his name among all 
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are wit- 
nesses of these things. And behold, I send the 
promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the 



TO BE PASTORS. 6 1 

city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power 
from on high." Luke xxiv, ^A,-A9- 

It was during the same period that our Lord gave 
to Simon Peter, as a representative apostle, The great com- 
his reiterated command, "feed my lambs," ttivrthrpas- 
"feed my sheep." Soon after this, in a torai office. 
mountain in Galilee where Jesus had appointed to 
meet his disciples, he "came and spake unto them, 
saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in 
earth : go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptiz- 
ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you : and lo I 
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 

Careful attention to the language of the great 
commission uttered in the above words will show 
that it not only provides for the preaching of the 
gospel, but also for the whole work of the ministry. 
According to its tenor and spirit, the apostolic dec- 
laration of the truth is to be followed by the admin- 
istration of the divine ordinances, and the business 
of the minister of the Lord Jesus is, by means of all 
personal and official influence, private entreaty, and 
social power, both to teach and induce mankind to 
OBSERVE the commands of Christ. For these efforts 
the Savior's co-operative presence is promised " alway, 
even unto the end of the world." Corresponding to 
this promise, the Lord Jesus, soon after his ascen- 
sion, sent forth the Holy Ghost as an inspirer of the 
apostles, and the paraclete and witness of all true 
ministers and believers." 

The sacred record soon after illustrates the apostol- 



62 APPOINTMENT OF MATTHIAS. 

ical conception of the ministry thus instituted. The 
few years covered by the history of the 

Apostolical ■' -^ . 

idea of the Acts of the Apostlcs belonged emphatic- 
nunistry. ^^ ^^ ^^ initiative or missionary period, 

in which, of necessity, the teaching office of the min- 
istry would be called into the most prominent activ- 
ity; nevertheless we find, from the very beginning, 
indications of the due exercise of the pastoral office. 
The first pubhc act of the apostles after the 
ascension of their divine Master was to secure the 
appointment and ordination of Matthias, who had 
companied with them all the time that the Lord 
Jesus went in and out among them, that he might 
be a witness with them of his resurrection, and that 
he might take "part of this ministry and apostleship 
from which Judas by transgression fell." After the 
preaching of the day of Pentecost it is recorded — 
Acts ii, 41, 42, 46, 47: "Then they that gladly re- 
ceived his [Peter's] word were baptized : and the same 
day there were added unto them about three thousand 
souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apos- 
tles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of 
bread, and in prayers. . . . And they, continu- 
ing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking 
bread from house to house, did eat their meat with 
gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and 
having favor with all the people." In this summary 
description we have a striking portraiture of a primi- 
tive Church, in which the apostles jointly presided, 
administering the ordinances of baptism and the 
Lord's-Supper, and giving diligent personal attention 
to social worship and all other legitimate agencies 



MINISTERIAL ACTIVITY. 63 

for securing the divine favor and co-operation. The 
result is impressively stated in the conclusion of the 
chapter: "And the Lord added to the Church daily 
such as should be [were] saved." 

The continued account of the Church in Jerusa- 
lem indicates not only p^reat dilisrence in 

•' ^ ^ Association 

preaching the word on the part of the with the peo- 
apostles, but their intimate association 
with the members of the Church for all purposes of 
Christian activity — Acts v, 42 : " Daily in the temple, 
and in every house, they ceased not to teach and 
preach Jesus Christ." From this statement it is 
obvious that personal visitation, not only to the 
houses of Christians, but also of the Jews, was rec- 
ognized as an important duty of the apostolic min- 
istry. By such means the number of the disciples 
was so multiplied, and the duties and difficulties of 
the public ministration so increased, that the apos- 
tles found it necessary to have their hands strength- 
ened by the selection and ordination of Appomtment 
the seven deacons. The division of labor ^^i^eipers. 
resulting from this appointment doubtless provided 
for the more efficient administration of minor duties 
at the same time that the apostles were enabled to 
give themselves "continually to prayer and the min- 
istry of the word." It is recorded as an immediate 
sequence of this event that "the word of God in- 
creased and the number of disciples multiplied in 
Jerusalem greatly." Acts vi, 7. 

The subsequent ordination of "elders in every 
Church" — Acts xiv, 23 — was an additional measure, 
of great importance, by wliich the apostles provided 



64 PAUnS TEACHING. 

for a continuity of pastoral oversight which their own 
far-reaching itinerancy prohibited them from person- 
ally exercising. Nevertheless, it became their cus- 
tom frequently, using the words of Paul, to " go again 
and visit our brethren in every city where we have 
preached the word of the Lord, and see how they 
do." Acts XV, 36. In this manner the apostles 
confirmed the Churches. Acts xv, 41. "So were 
the Churches established in the faith, and increased 
in number daily." xvi, 5. 

In the special address of the apostle Paul to the 
. elders of the Church at Ephesus we have 

Paul s exposi- 
tion of minis- a beautiful and affecting exhibit of apos- 

terial duty. , , , ^ . ~ 

tolic example and, precept m reierence to 
the Christian ministry, inclusive of the pastoral office. 
"Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, 
after what manner I have been with you at all sea- 
sons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, 
and with many tears : . . . and how I kept 
back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have 
showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from 
house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also 
to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith 
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I 
go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing 
the things that shall befall me there : save that the 
Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that 
bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these 
things move me, neither count I my life dear unto 
myself, so that I might finish my course wdth joy, 
and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord 
Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God. , . 



MINISTERIAL SUCCESSION. 65 

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the 
flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you 
overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath 
purchased with his own blood." Acts xx, 18-28. 

The instructions of the apostle Peter in reference 
to pastoral duty are of the same tenor. Peter's exhor- 
"The elders which are among you I ^''*'""- 
exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the 
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory 
that shall be revealed: feed the flock of God which 
is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by 
constraint, but willingly ; not for filthy lucre, but of 
a ready mind ; neither as being lords over God's her- 
itage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when 
the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a 
crown of glory that fadeth not away." i Peter v, 1-4. 
In fact, the apostolic epistles generally are to be con- 
sidered as so many authoritative agencies of pastoral 
instruction to the then existing and future churches. 
Various pertinent illustrations of pastoral solicitude 
and practical ministerial duty are to be found in the 
apostolic writings of this class. Witness Rom. i, 10- 
12; XV, 24-29; I Cor. ii, 1-4; iii, 1-9; iv, i, 11-17; 
2 Cor. iii, 6, and many other passages. 

There is also another important phase of apostolical 
labor too often overlooked or undervalued. 

As our Savior in the institution of the Christian 
ministry had, in fact, provided for its con- Measures for 
tinuance, " even unto the end of the world," ;;"|;;- ^f L^".^^ 
so the apostles, following his example and "lini^tors. 
illustrating his precepts, took measures for the proper 
preparation of their " own sons in the faith " to suc- 

6 



66 THE DIVINE CALL. 

ceed them in their ministerial labors, and to perpetu- 
ate the ministerial office to generations following. 
Not only did the apostles associate with themselves, 
in their preaching and pastoral tours, such men as 
Barnabas, Silas, John, Mark, Timothy, Titus, and oth- 
ers, but to the two last named, as representative men, 
the apostle Paul addressed letters, filled with special 
instructions in reference to ministerial character and 
duty — hence called Pastoral Epistles. These epistles 
are rich in precepts, exhortations, and inspired admo- 
nitions applicable to every true minister of Christ, 
whether of ancient or modern times. Observe some 
of the points which they set forth with clearness, unc- 
tion, and authority. 

" Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the command- 
A. The divine Hicut of God our Savior and Lord Jesus 
^^''^- Christ." '' I thank Jesus Christ our Lord, 

who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, 
putting me into the ministry." " This charge I com- 
miit to thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies 
which went before on thee." i Tim. i, i, 12, 18. 
" Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir 
up the gift of God, which is in thee by the jDutting on 
of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of 
fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 
" Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast 
heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 
That good thing which was committed unto thee keep 
by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." 2 Tim. i, 
6, 7, 13, 14. "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, 
which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on 
of the hands of the presbytery." i Tim. iv, 14. 



MINISTERIAL CHARACTER. 6'^ 

" Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace 
that is in Christ Jesus." " Endure hard- 

B. Personal 

ness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," and ministerial 
2 Tim. ii, 1,4. " O man of God, flee these 
things (love of money, etc.), and follow after right- 
eousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, 
whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a 
good profession before many witnesses. I give thee 
charge in the sight of God, . . . and before Jesus 
Christ, . . . that thou keep this commandment 
without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." i Tim. vi, 11-14. "I charge 
thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ : . . . 
Preach the word ; be instant in season, out of season ; 
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and 
doctrine." Watch thou in all thinfrs, endure afflic- 
tions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof 
of thy ministry." 2 Tim. iv, i, 2, 5. "These things 
write I unto thee, ... that thou mayest know how 
thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, 
which is the church of the living God, the pillar and 
ground of the truth." i Tim. iii, 14, 15. "Be thou 
an exam.ple of the believers, in word, in conversation, 
in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." iv, 12. 

" Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to 
doctrine." " Meditate upon these things ; c. Ministerial 
give thyself wholly to them ; that thy prof- ^^"'^^"-^^^• 
iting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and 
unto the doctrine ; continue in them : for in doing 
this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear 
thee." I Tim. iv, 13, 16. "But refuse profane and 



68 STUDIES AND INFLUENCE. 

old wives' fables." v. 7. " Neither give heed to fa- 
bles and endless genealogies, which minister ques- 
tions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith." 
I Tim. i, 4. "Avoiding profane and vain babblings 
and oppositions of science falsely so called." " Avoid 
foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and 
strivings about the law ; for they are unprofitable and 
vain." Tit. iii, 9. " Study to show thyself approved 
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim. ii, 15. 
" Observe these things without preferring one be- 

D. Pastoral forc auothcr, doing nothing by partiality." 
citdrdisl' I Tim. V, 2 1 . " But speak thou the things 
pii"^- which become sound doctrine : that the 
aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, 
in charity, in patience. The aged women, likewise, 
that they be in behavior as becometh holiness. . . . 
Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded. In 
all things showing thyself a pattern of good works. 
. . Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own 
masters, . . . showing all good fidelity ; that they 
may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all 
things. . . . These things speak, and exhort, and 
rebuke with all authority. Put them in mind to be 
subject to principalities and powers, to obey magis- 
trates, to be ready to every good work." Tit. ii, i- 
15 ; iii, I. "A man that is a heretic, after the first 
and second admonition, reject." iii, 10. 

" The things which thou hast heard of me among 

E. Instruction many witnesses, the same commit thou to 
and appoint- faithful men, who shall be able to teach oth- 

ment of future ' 

ers also." 2 Tim. ii, 2. " The servant of 



ministers. 



APOSTOLIC INSTRUCTION. 69 

the Lord must not strive ; but be gentle unto all men, 
apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing them 
that oppose themselves." ii, 24, 25. " For this 
cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldst set in 
order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders 
in every city, as I had appointed thee." Tit. i, 5. 
" Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker 
of other men's sins." i Tim. v, 22. " A bishop then 
must be blameless, ... of good behavior, given 
to hospitality, apt to teach, . . . not a novice." 
" Moreover he must have a good report of them which 
are without ; lest he fall into reproach and the snare 
of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, 
holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 
And let these also first be proved ; then let them use 
the office of a deacon, being found blameless." " They 
that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to 
themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the 
faith which is in Christ Jesus." i Tim. iii, 1-13. 

Most commentators have failed to perceive the im- 
portance of the apostolic example and injunctions just 
recorded. Mosheim, the Church historian, is an ex- 
ception. The following is an extract from his " His- 
torical Commentaries on the State of Christianity 
during the first three hundred and twenty-five years 
from the Christian era." Cent. I, sec. 40 (note 2). 

"There can be no doubt but that, almost from the first rise 
of Christianity, it was the practice of the youth, in Mosheim's 
whom such a strength of genius and capacity man- comment, 
ifested itself as to afford a hope of their becoming profitable 
servants in the cause of religion, to be set apart for the sacred 
ministry, and for the presbyters and bishops to supply them 
with the requisite preparatory instruction, and form them, by 



70 MOSHEIM'S THEORY, 

their precepts and advice, for that solemn office. On this sub- 
ject St Paul, in the latter of his Epistles to Timothy ii, 2, 
expresses himself in the following terms : 'And the things that 
thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit 
thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.' 
The apostle here, we see, directs Timothy, in the first place, to 
select from among the members of the Church a certain number 
of men who might appear to him to possess the talents requisite 
for conveying instruction to others, and who were persons of 
tried and approved faith. For it can not be doubted that by the 
'faithful men' here alluded to, we ought to understand, not 
merely believers, or those holding the faith, but persons of ap- 
proved and established faith, to whom things of the highest 
moment -might be intrusted without danger or apprehension. 
Secondly, to the persons thus selected, he was to communicate 
and expound that discipline in which he himself had been 
instructed by St. Paul before many witnesses. Now it is evi- 
dent that St. Paul could not by this mean that they were to be 
taught the mere elements or rudiments of the Christian religion ; 
for with these every one professing Christianity was of course 
made acquainted : doubtless, therefore, those whom the apostle, 
in this place, directs Timothy to instruct, must have known and 
been thoroughly versed in them long before. The discipline, then-, 
which Timothy had received from St. Paul, and which he was 
thus to become the instrument of communicating to others, was, 
without question, that more full and perfect knowledge of divine 
truth as revealed in the gospel of Christ, which it was fitting 
that every one who was advanced to the office of a master or 
teacher among the brethren should possess, together with a due 
degree of instruction as to the most skillful and ready method 
of imparting to the multitude a proper rule of faith and correct 
principles of moral action. 

" But what is this, I would ask, but to direct Timothy to insti- 
tute a school or seminary for the education of future presbyters 
and teachers for the Church, and to cause a certain number of 
persons of talents and virtue to be trained up therein, under a 
course of discipHne similar to that which he himself had received 
at the hands of St. Paul? It may, moreover, be inferred from 
these words that the apostle had personally discharged the same 
office which he thus imposes on Timothy, and applied himself to 
the properly educating of future teachers and ministers for the 



APOSTOLIC SEMINARIES. 7 1 

Church, for it appears by them that he had not been the tutor 
of Timothy only, but that his instructions to this, his favorite 
disciple, had been imparted ' before many witnesses,' J^a having, 
in this place, unquestionably the force of the preposition ev^rrcov. 
To determine, indeed, whom we ought to understand by the per- 
sons thus termed 'witnesses' has occasioned no little stir among 
the commentators. According to some we should connect them 
with the following word — irapad-ov — and consider St. Paul as say- 
ing 'transmit by many witnesses.' Others would have us under- 
stand by these witnesses the presbyters, who ordained Timothy 
to the sacred ministry by the laying on of hands — i Tim. iv, 14 — 
and conceive that immediately previous to such ordination St. 
Paul had, in the presence and hearing of these presbyters, reca- 
pitulated and again inculcated on the mind of his adopted son in 
the faith the chief or leading articles of the Christian religion, 
while others, again, imagine that the persons here alluded to 
were witnesses of the life, action, and miracles of our Lord. 
But of these and some other conjectures on the subject which 
it is needless to enumerate there is not one but what is incum- 
bered with considerable difficulties. A much more natural way 
of resolving the point, as it appears to me, is by supposing that 
St. Paul had under him, in a sort of seminary or school which 
he had instituted for the purpose of properly educating presby- 
ters and teachers, several other disciples and pupils besides 
Timothy, and that the witnesses here spoken of, before whom 
Timothy had been instructed, were his fellow-students, persons 
destined, like him, for the ministry, and partakers together with 
him of the benefits that were to be derived from the apostle's 
tuition." 

" It is highly credible — I may indeed say it is more than cred- 
ible — that not St. Paul alone, but also all the other apostles of 
our Lord, applied themselves to the special instruction of select 
persons, so as to render them fit to be intrusted with the care 
and government of the Churches, and consequently that the first 
Christian teachers were brought up and formed in schools or 
seminaries immediately under their eye. Besides other refer- 
ences which might be given, it appears from Irenaeus, advers. 
HcE7'eses, lib. ii, cap. xxii, that St. John employed himself at 
Ephesus, where he spent the latter part of his life in qualifying 
youth for the sacred ministry. And the same author, as quoted 
by Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., lib. v, cap. xx, represents Polycarp, 



72 ORIGIN OF DIOCESAN SCHOOLS. 

the celebrated bishop of Smyrna, as having labored in the same 
way. That the example of these illustrious characters was in 
this respect followed by the bishops generally will scarcely admit 
of doubt. To this origin, in my opinion, are to be referred those 
seminaries, termed ' episcopal schools,' which we find attached 
to the principal Churches, and in which youth designed for the 
ministry went through a course of preparatory instruction and 
discipline, under the bishop himself, or some presbyter of his 
appointment." 

It is not necessary to adopt the learned author s 
school theory in application to St. Paul and Timothy, 
except so far as it harmonizes with the largest activity 
in their regular apostolic labors, during which, how- 
ever, companionshfp and intimate association would 
afford the most favorable opportunities, on the one 
hand, for instruction ; and, on the other, for the acqui- 
sition of the most valuable knowledge in reference to 
ministerial duty. With this qualification it is safe to 
pronounce the remarks quoted a clear and judicious 
exposition of a very important branch of apostolical 
effort and solicitude. 

The preceding summary of the teachings of the 
New Testament, in reference to the office and duties 
of the Christian ministry, if not exhaustive, may at 
least be pronounced full and complete in its several 
parts. It exliibits the practice and precepts of the 
apostles, in harmony with the example and commands 
of the great Head of the Church. The same sacred 
record makes it plain that the appointment of a min- 
istry was both the earliest and latest solicitude of the 
Savior when upon earth. The call of his disciples — 
the twelve — was among his first public acts ; their 
commission, as apostles, given them, probably, in the 



THE SAVIOR'S SOLICITUDE. y^ 

presence of "above five hundred brethren," was his 
last. In hke manner, throughout the whole apostolic 
administration, the line of distinction between minis- 
ters of various grades and. " the brethren," or " the 
faithful," is kept up with equal clearness. Even in 
the book of Revelation, while the dignity and privi- 
leges of all whom Christ hath washed from their sins 
in his own blood are indicated by the statement that 
he hath made them " kings and priests unto God and 
his Father," we also read of the "angels of the 
Churches," and of the " elders before the Lamb," and 
"before the throne," and thus learn that, both on 
earth and in heaven, distinctions, established for im- 
portant objects in connection with the Church, will not 
cease to be recognized in the world to come. 

While, however, Christ established a ministry, and 
provided for its perpetuation in his Church, he pre- 
scribed for it no lineal descent or ceremonial succes- 
sion. The ministry of the gospel was designed to be 
spiritual, and not carnal ; an active working agency 
for the salvation of men, and not a caste set apart for 
ritual observances or ceremonial display. Hence the 
continuance of the true ministry of the Lord Jesus 
Christ was made dependent upon the direct call of the 
Head of the Church, through the agency of the Holy 
Ghost and the co-operation of a witnessing Church. 

7 



74 TfJE MINISTERIAL CALL. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE MINISTERIAL CALL.— HISTORICAL VIEW. 

THE fact of a special divine call to religious 
offices is familiarly recognized throughout the 
Old Testament Scriptures. The call or appointment 
of Aaron and his sons to the Jewish priesthood is 
stated at length in Exodus xxviii and Numbers xviii. 
In like manner the Levites were appointed to the 
subordinate offices of the sanctuary; The call of 
Moses to be the deliverer and lawgiver of the chosen 
people was not less distinct than that of Aaron to the 
priesthood, while it was strictly personal. See Ex- 
odus iii, 2-16; iv, 1-17; xix, 9, 20. So in the case 
of the greater and lesser prophets, from Samuel to 
Malachi ; God called, " the word of the Lord came 
unto" them ; "the burden of the word of the Lord" 
was upon them. They " spake as they were moved 
of the Holy Ghost," and ever regarded their office as 
divinely appointed. The latter class of calls indicates 
that, in the higher phases even of a ceremonial re- 
ligion, the divine authority was manifested through 
spiritual agencies. Under the Mosaic economy, only 
the merest ritualism and the ordinances of a " worldly 
sanctuary" were committed to lineal descent. In 
Christianity such ordinances were abolished, and no 



DIVINE PLAN OF SUCCESSION. 75 

occasion was left for the hereditary transmission of 
divine appointments. Hence, as might be expected, 
the call of the true Christian minister is both personal 
and spiritual. 

Contemporaneously with the institution of the chris- 
tian ministry our Lord provided for its per- 

■^ ^ *■ Appointment 

petuation by the joint action of the Church of the christian 
and of the divine prerogative. Pertinent '"™^'^' 
and specific instruction on this point is recorded from 
the Savior's own lips, both by Matthew and Luke, in 
the significant and impressive command, " Pray ye 
therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send 
forth laborers into his harvest." 

The language of this injunction, which must be 
considered as permanently binding upon the Church, 
implies clearly that Christ, as the Lord of the har- 
vest, will ever maintain the prerogative of calling and 
sending laborers into his harvest, while he also re- 
quires his people to pray for the same object. This 
is in harmony with the whole economy of grace. 
Christians are taught to pray for the coming of 
Christ's kingdom, and for all other good objects 
which it is the will of God to accomplish, and not 
only to pray but to labor for them, and thus become 
co-workers with God. 

Not only was the divine plan of ministerial succes- 
sion indicated by the precept quoted, but also by 
repeated examples recorded in the New Testament, 
as occurring after the Savior's ascension. Although 
most of these examples were alluded to in the fore- 
going chapter, they deserve to be more fully consid- 
ered in this connection. 



"J^y THE CALL OF MATTHIAS. 

A. The call cmd appoiiitmetit of Matthias to the 
apostleship. 

The first public act of the Church, after Christ's 
ascension, involved the duty the Savior had appointed 
of praying that " He would send forth laborers into 
his harvest." Even while the apostles and the one 
hundred and twenty disciples were waiting at Jeru- 
salem for the Pentecostal baptism, Peter stood up in 
their midst and declared that one of the disciples 
must be ordained to be a witness with the apostles 
of Christ's resurrection. "And they appointed two, 
Joseph called Barsabas, and Matthias. And they 
prayed, and said. Thou, Lord, which knowest the 
hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou 
hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry 
and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression 
fell. . . And they gave forth their lots ; and the 
lot fell upon Matthias ; and he was numbered with 
the eleven apostles," Acts i, 23-26. 

In this transaction a beautiful harmony is apparent 
between the action of the Church and the exercise of 
the divine prerogative, i. The Church discerned the 
necessity of the appointment, and exercised its judg- 
ment in reference to the general character and quali- 
fications of the men adapted to fill it. 2. The Church 
recognized the necessity of the divine choice or call 
as between the two candidates for this particular ap- 
pointment, and prayed for an indication of that choice. 
3. The giving forth of lots as a means of ascertain- 
ing the divine choice was in accordance vv^ith an 
ancient custom, which, in that case, may have been 
equivalent to a ballot, by which each individual would j 



APPOINTMENT OF DEACONS. 



77 



express the combined result of his judgment and the 
divine impression upon his mind. 4. Thus, while the 
Church prayed and voted, God guided the choice and 
called the candidate through the action of the Church 
as well as by the influence of the Holy Spirit. 

B. The appointment of the seven deacons. 

In like manner, when, after the Pentecost, it became 
necessary to have the hands of the apostles strength- 
ened by the appointment of co-laborers, there was a 
direct appeal to the judgment of the Church as to the 
qualifications of those who were to be their future 
ministers. " Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among 
you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy 
Ghost and wisdom." Acts vi, 3. When thus ap- 
pealed to, the Church made its selection, as we may 
safely presume, after the manner previously described, 
and which therefore needed not to be restated. At 
all events, the choice had primary reference to spirit- 
ual gifts, including doubtless the personal conviction 
of a call to the public service of God. That choice 
was ratified by prayer and the imposition of the hands 
of the apostles, acts which indicated that sacred com- 
bination of divine and human agency which ought 
ever to exist in ministerial appointments. 

C. The call and appointment of the apostle Paid. 

It is most usual to consider the narrative of the 
ninth of Acts with reference to the miraculous con- 
viction and subsequent conversion of the persecuting 
Saul of Tarsus. That narrative, however, is equally 
instructive in reference to the subject of the present 
chapter, a call to the Christian ministry. Indeed, this 
subject is prominently suggested in various parts of 



yS THE APOSTLE PAUL. 

the narrative, so much so, that we are authorized to 
infer that the Savior's miraculous appearance had a 
direct reference, not only to the conversion of a sin- 
ner, but to the call of an apostle. Immediately on 
Saul's recognition of that Jesus whom, in the person 
of his disciples, he was persecuting, he, trembling and 
astonished, said, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
do ?" The form of the question implies an impression 
already conveyed to his mind that the Lord was sum- 
moning him to some important work. The answer is 
remarkable, in that it involved the co-operation of the 
Church, even in this extraordinary case, both in refer- 
ence to Saul's conversion and call to the ministry. 
** Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee 
what thou must do." Corresponding to this instruc- 
tion, the Lord said to Ananias, *' Go thy way, [z. e., go 
to Saul of Tarsus :] " for he is a chosen vessel unto 
me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, 
and the children of Israel : for I will show him. how 
great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And 
Ananias went his way, and entered into the house ; 
and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the 
Lord hath sent me unto thee that thou mightest re- 
ceive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost." 
As in other cases, the record here is very brief; but 
we are authorized to infer that with the gift of the 
Holy Ghost Paul at once felt himself moved to 
preach the gospel. It is immediately recorded, " And 
straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, 
that he is the Son of God." This is to be understood 
as the first and appropriate impulse of the newly 
called apostle. But a further co-operation and sane- 



CLEAR CONVICTIONS OF DUTY, 79 

tion of the Church was necessary before the com- 
mencement of his specially appointed ministry. On 
his arrival at Jerusalem, after a period of retirement 
in Arabia, Barnabas, in person, " brought him to the 
apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the 
Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and 
how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name 
of Jesus." On this recommendation "he was with 
them, coming in and going out at Jerusalem." 

But it was not till after a still longer probation, 
during which he appears to have exercised a prelim- 
inary ministry, that he was publicly ordained to his 
great office of apostle to the Gentiles. This event 
occurred in the Church at Antioch, where, after a sea- 
son of ministering and fasting in connection with cer- 
tain other prophets and teachers, '' the Holy Ghost 
said. Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work 
whereunto I have called them. And when they had 
fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they 
sent them away." Acts xiii, 1-3. Thus it is seen, 
that although miraculously called to the service and 
ministry of Christ, Paul submitted himself " to every 
ordinance of man for the Lord's sake." In other 
words, he recognized the co-ordinate agency of the 
Church in publicly ordaining him by pious, though 
not by apostolic hands, to the apostolic office. It 
is instructive to notice with what confidence and 
emphasis he afterward reiterated in nearly all his 
epistles his conviction of the divine and personal call 
under which he devoted his life to the ministry of 
the gospel. Romans i, i : " Paul, a servant of Jesus 
Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the 



80 CALL OF THE ELDERS, 

gospel of God." I Cor. i, i : " Paul called to be an 
apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God." 
Gal. i, I : " Paul an apostle, not of men, neither by 
man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who 
raised him from the dead." i Tim. i, i : " Paul an 
apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God 
our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ." 

D. The call of the elders of the New Testament 
ChiircJics. 

The first appointment of elders is recorded in Acts 
xiv, 23 : "And when they [Saul and Barnabas, who 
had been visiting numerous Churches, and confirming 
the souls and encouraging the faith of the disciples] 
had ordained them elders in every Church, and had 
prayed with fasting, they commended them to the 
Lord, on whom they believed." It is to be observed 
that the extreme brevity of the history of the Acts 
of the Apostles precluded either repetition or detail, 
and yet from the analogy of circumstances we may 
infer that, as in the case of the ordination of Mat- 
thias and the seven deacons, so in the appointment 
of elders in the Churches, prayer for divine guidance 
in the selection of men preceded the act of ordina- 
tion, while that act was appropriately followed by 
supplication for God's blessing upon the work they 
might perform. 

From a comparison of the above record with the 
language of Paul's address to the elders of Ephesus, 
we may infer that it was the custom of the apostles 
to ordain to the office of elder those, and only those, 
who by suitable indications evinced to the Church 
that they were called of God or moved by the Holy 



MOVED BY THE HOLY GHOST. 8 1 

Ghost to take upon them the sacred office. The 
same view is corroborated by various expressions in 
the epistles of Paul to Timothy and Titus, some of 
which have been already quoted. 

These varied but harmonious examples, extending 
from the beginning of Christ's public ministry to the 
end of the inspired New Testament record, are suffi- 
cient to prove conclusively that the mode instituted 
by the great Head of the Church for the perpetuation 
of his true ministry in the earth contemplates, in 
every case, a personal divine call, accredited by cor- 
responding impressions and action on the part of a 
witnessing Church. 

Well had it been for the Church and the world if 
this important requirement had never been lost sight 
of by those professing Christianity, but unhappily at 
this very point there arose the germ of a fearful apos- 
tasy. It can hardly be doubted that during the life- 
timic of the apostles, and for some generations later, 
the apostolic examples and precepts were generally 
followed. But it is only too apparent, from the rec- 
ords of ecclesiastical history and the writings of the 
early fathers, that loose and corrupt views of the 
ministerial office began to creep into the Church 
much earlier than would have been thought possible. 
Error on this subject began to be developed prima- 
rily in the most insidious manner. The apostles 
Paul, Peter, and • John had attributed the function 
of priesthood to the whole body of true believers 
in their capacity of offering up "spiritual sacrifices 
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."* 

*Rom. xii, i ; Hcb. xiii, 15 ; i Pet. ii, 5, 9 ; Rev i, 6; v, 10. 



82 INCEPTION OF ERROR. 

But by degrees, probably through the assumptions 
of some and the carelessness of others, this impor- 
tant doctrine in reference to the dignity and privi- 
lege of every real Christian became obscured by the 
adoption of the term priesthood in application to the 
Christian ministry as a collective body, inclusive of | 
bishops, presbyters, and deacons.* While such a use 
of the term was not authorized by any inspired exam- 
ple, it nevertheless became very convenient to both 
Greeks and Romans, who had been accustomed to 
the analogous idea of a pagan priesthood, and equally 
so to persons of Hebrew descent familiar with the 
idea and history of the Jewish priesthood. 

Innocent as such a use of the term priesthood 
doubtless seemed at first, it was the germ of a fun- 
damental and far-reaching error. When that error 
once gained foot-hold, it was but another step in the 
same direction to denominate individuals belonging 
to the clerical body priests, a thing never done by 
Christ or his apostles. The term priest was but 
rarely, and with apparent caution, applied to Chris- 
tian ministers by any writer of the ancient Church 
until near the close of the third century. But when 
the use of the term in that sense became common, 
and the minds of Christians became accustomed to 
the perversion it involved, the next step in the same 



*Quid commemorem diaconos in tertio? Quid presbyteros in se- 
cundo sacerdotio constitutes ? Ipsi apices et principes omnium, aliqui 
episcopi illis temporibus. Instrumenta divinse legis impie tradide- 
runt." — Optatus de Milevi, Lib. I, p. 35. 

" If any bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, or any one of the catalogue 
of the priesthood, when an oblation is made, do not communicate, let 
him mention his reason," etc. — Apostolic Canons, No. IX. 



JUSTIN MARTYR. 83 

direction was the invention of some form or theory 
of sacrifice adapted to the priestly office, and without 
which the term priest as applied to a Christian min- 
ister would be an obvious misnomer. Unhappily the 
spiritual idea of a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the 
eucharist had already become in a great degree mate- 
rialized prior to the professed conversion of Constan- 
tine. After that event, when the honors of the state 
began to be conferred upon bishops and presbyters, 
rapid progress was made in the development of a 
hierarchical theory of Christian priesthood, and in 
the adoption and practice of priestly ceremonies. 

In such connections and under such influences the 
idea of a spiritual call to the ministry rapidly faded, 
and ultimately became lost in the advancing gloom 
of mediaeval error and superstition. Nearly if not 
quite all the expressions in the earlier fathers bearing 
directly or indirectly on this subject are in harmony 
with apostolic usage. Justin Martyr knows nothing 
of a priesthood among Christians, but in describing 
their usages in the second century he speaks of the 
eucharist as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and of those 
administering it not as priests or Levites, but as the 
"president of the brethren," [elder,] who conducts 
the religious services, and of the deacons, who assist 
in distributing the elements.* 

Even Cyprian, the high churchman of the third 

*"0u the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country 
gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the 
writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits. Then, 
when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and 
exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise 
together and pray, and, as we before said, when our pv.iver is ended 



84 CYPRIAN. 

century, addresses none of his epistles to priests, 
but numbers of them to presbyters and deacons as 
such. In the text of his letters and other writings 
he occasionally introduces the term priest, but chiefly 
with reference to the aggregate body of the clergy. 
Although he habitually confuses the functions of the 
Levitical priesthood with those of the Christian min- 
istry, yet he insists upon a divine call to the latter, 
corroborated also by the choice of the Church. Wit- 
ness his comment on the episcopal appointment of 
Cornelius : 

" Cornelius was made bishop by the judgment of God and 
of his Christ, by the testimony of almost all the clergy, by the 
suffrage of the people who were then present, and by the 
assembly of ancient priests and good men." — Epistle LI to 
Antoiiiantis. 

Chrysostom, in the latter part of the fourth cen- 
tury, wrote a treatise " On the Priesthood," from both 
the title and tenor, of which it appears that the Levit- 
ical idea had at that time gained complete ascendency 
in the East as well as in the West. While this work 
of the celebrated preacher of Antioch and Constan- 
tinople is not wanting in many excellent sentiments 
respecting ministerial duties, in whatever aspect they 
are. regarded, nevertheless it gives pertinent illustra- 
tions of the erroneous and exaggerated views which 
then and thenceforward prevailed in reference to the 
call and office of the Christian minister. The work 

bread, and wine, and water are brought, and the president in like 
manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and 
the people assent, saying, Amen; and there is a distribution to each, 
and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to 
those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons." — i Apology^ 
chap. Ixvii. 



CHRYSOSTOM. .85 

opens with a narrative, which, whether true or fic- 
titious, indicates that the custom of the Church had 
greatly degenerated in reference to its mode of 
selecting and inducting candidates into the sacred 
office. The narrative relates to himself and Basil, 
and is generally accepted as authentic. The sub- 
stance of it is, that young Chrysostom had, contrary 
to his secret intention, assented to the persuasions 
of Basil to be ordained with him to the priesthood. 
Chrysostom says : 

" I used such means as convinced him that if any thing of the 
kind should happen I would concur with him. After no great 
length of time, therefore, the person arrived who intended to 
ordain us. I concealed myself. He, knowing nothing of my 
design, is introduced to the assembly on some other pretext, and 
accepts the yoke, confiding in my promise to follow him, or 
rather imagining that I had gone before him ; for some persons, 
even in the assembly, helped to deceive him." " But when after 
a time he heard tliat I had escaped, he came to me, and with 
shame and confusion in his countenance prepared to speak. . . 
Seeing him, therefore, filled with tears, and overwhelmed with 
confusion, I, who knew the cause, laughed for delight, and, when 
I had forcibly seized his right hand and kissed it, glorified God 
that my artifice had succeeded so well." 

What a departure this from the devout sincerity and 
godly simplicity of the primitive Christians ! Artifice 
practiced, and deception boasted of, as a means of 
inveigling a young man into the sacred office, from 
which another escapes as from a snare ! Yet the re- 
luctance of Chrysostom, in reference to accepting the 
functions of the ministry, seem commendable in com- 
parison with the eager partisanship and reckless am- 
bition with which it had already become customary 
to seek the orders and offices of the Church. His 



86 GROWING CORRUPTIONS. 

subsequent argument with Basil strongly sets forth 
the evils against which he protested : 

" Some," said he, " when they see the priesthood continue 
long in the hands of one person, though the impiety of the ac- 
tion would restrain them from killing him, are eager to depose 
him, every one being ambitious to succeed him." "Shall I 
bring before you another scene in this warfare, which is full of 
innumerable dangers ? Go and take a view of the public festi- 
vals, during which it is customary for the ecclesiastical elections 
to be made, and you will see the priest assailed by as many 
accusations as there are persons subject to his government. 
Those who have a share in bestowing this honor are divided 
into many parties, and you may see the council of presbyters 
unable to come to an agreement, either among themselves or 
with the bishop who presides over them, concerning the person 
who ought to be preferred, but standing aloof from each other, 
while one chooses this man, and another that. One man says, 
Met him be admitted, because he is of a noble family ;' another. 
' because he is possessed of much wealth, and has no need to 
be maintained out of the revenues of the Church !' a third, 'be- 
cause he has deserted from"l:he opposite party !' Some are 
eager to give the highest honor to their intimate friend, some to 
their relation, some to any one who will flatter them more than 
others ; and no one looks to the person who is fit for it, nor 
thinks of inquiring into the qualities of the soul." " Other 
pleas have been admitted still more absurd ; for some are even 
taken into the order of the clergy, that they may not range 
themselves with an opposite party; others, on account of their 
profligacy, lest, in resentment for being slighted, they should 
commit some grievous wrong ! Can any thing be more im- 
proper than this, when wretches, teeming with unnumbered 
crimes, are courted for reasons for which they ought to be pun- 
ished, and even advanced to the priestly dignity for causes 
which ought to prevent them from passing over the pavements 
of the Church ! Need we look further for the cause of God's 
anger when we commit concerns so holy and so fearful to 
wicked and worthless men who will be sure to pollute them !" 

While Chrysostom could thus clearly point out the 
evils which degraded the character and neutralized the 



THE GERM OF TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 8/ 

moral power of the ministry in his day, he failed to 
discover their real cause, which, at least to a large 
degree, consisted in an apostasy of the Church from 
the Savior's appointed mode of calling his true min- 
isters. Aside from the true theory of the Christian 
ministry, it was in vain that Chrysostom sought to 
purify and elevate the sacred office by exaggerating 
its character and design, as in the following language : 

" Though the priesthood is discharged upon earth, it is ranked 
among heavenly ordinances, and with good reason ; for it was 
estabhshed ... by the Comforter himself, who has intrusted 
men yet dweUing in the flesh with a ministry like that of angels, 
for which reason the person, who is consecrated to this office, 
ought to be as pure as if he stood in the heavens themselves, 
encircled by those superior beings. For, if even the institutions 
of the law were awful and most impressive, . . . when we ex- 
amine the institutions of grace, we shall feel those awful and 
most impressive spectacles to have been of slight moment, and 
what was said of the law itself to be true of its ordinances, that 
even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, 
by reason of the glory that excelleth. For when you see the 
Lord sacrificed and laid upon the altar, and the priest standing 
and praying over the sacrifice, and all the people impurpled with 
his most precious blood, do you then fancy yourself among men 
or continuing upon the earth ? Are you not instantly trans- 
ported into the heavens, so as, discarding every fleshly senti- 
ment from your mind, to look around with naked soul and 
disembodied spirit on celestial objects ? O, the wonderful phi- 
lanthropy of God ! He who sits above with the Father is at 
that instant holden in the hands of every one, giving himself to 
those who clasp and embrace him, as all may clearly see wMth 
the eyes of faith." 

Chrysostom seeks further to illustrate the dignity 
of the priesthood by the argument, still current in the 
Roman and Greek Churches, of the power of the keys. 

" Though temporal rulers have authority to bind, flicir power 
reaches only to the body ; whereas this l)ond penetrates the 



S8 THE SACERDOTAL IDEA. 

very soul, and passes up into the heavens, where God ratifies 
the act of his priests, and the Lord confirms the decree of his 
servants. What, indeed, has he given them, but the whole 
authority of heaven? For 'whosesoever sins,' says he, 'ye 
remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye 
retain, they are retained.' What authority can be greater than 
this ? The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son. 
But I see it now again delegated by the Son to the priests ; for 
they are advanced to this office with as absolute a commission 
as if they had been already translated into the heavens, as if 
they were already exalted above human nature, and exempted 
from the dominion of our passions !" 

Here we have the sacerdotal idea set forth in an 
extravagant form ; and yet, when we compare the last 
class of extracts with that which portrayed the disor- 
derly strifes attendant upon elections to the priest- 
hood, and also the bad character of some who held 
the ofhce, we have proof that error, however plausible, 
is not conducive to the practice of the truth. No one 
of the Church fathers has been more admired by pos- 
terity than Chrysostom, and we thus have in his 
words the theory of the ministry which had crept 
into the Church prior to the fifth century. 

It would be easy to show, by extracts from other 
writers, that, as time advanced, this theory was not 
improved, but rather made worse, both in its form of 
statement and in its practical application. A spuri- 
ous work, entitled " The Constitutions of the Holy 
Apostles," was, at about that period, palmed off upon 
the Church, and made to serve as an authoritative 
guide in reference to matters of organization and dis- 
cipline. The design of that work obviously was to 
complete and maintain the system of hierarchical 
innovations, which was then being foisted into the 



DISORDERL Y ELECTIONS. 89 

Christian Church, to its great detriment. A few ex- 
tracts, relating to the ministry, are given in the Ap- 
pendix,* to illustrate the unscrupulous means resorted 
to for the establishment and support of a scheme of 
error, which, under specious pretenses, wrought incal- 
culable evil to Christianity. Under the system re- 
ferred to, while -the idea of a spiritual call to the 
sacred office was apparently recognized in the for- 
mularies of ordination, yet, in reality, it was practi- 
cally unknown or grossly misapprehended. Thus, the 
Church, having practically departed from a great cen- 
tral truth of the Christian system, was suffered to 
lapse into deeper and deeper gloom for many succes- 
sive centuries. Appointments to the priesthood be- 
came matters of routine, like elections to civil office. 
Disorders at clerical elections, such as Chrysostom 
described, would be distressing to devout minds, and 
would have their influence in driving the best men 
away from the work of the ministry into the obscurity 
of monasticism. Hence we find that vast numbers 
of the most pious men of the early and mediaeval cen- 
turies secluded themselves from the active duties of 
the Christian life, retiring to deserts and mountains 
to spend their days in fasting, and prayers, and pen- 
ances. It became customary to call monks by emi- 
nence religious (persons), while the clergy were called 
secular or worldly (persons), not having taken upon 
themselves vows of poverty. Had correct views of 
ministerial life and duty continued to prevail, it is safe 
to infer that this enormous waste of time, talent, and 
energy might have been saved to the Church, and 

*Vide Appendix A, p. 561. 



90 RESULTS OF THE SACERDOTAL SYSTEM. 

thousands upon thousands of lives, that were worse 
than thrown away in monkish seclusion and profitless 
austerities, would have been actively devoted to the 
preaching of the gospel and diligent efforts for the 
salvation of men. But the tendency of the sacer- 
dotal theory was to ignore the proper design and 
importance of preaching in the very proportion it 
exaggerated and perverted the sacraments. Hence, 
preaching became rare and inefficient, while sacer- 
dotal parade displaced the simple ritual of the prim- 
itive Church. Thus, errors of practice followed erro- 
neous theories, until ecclesiastical wickedness became 
ascendant in high places, and the worst of sins were 
practiced under the sanction of priestly example and 
authority. 

It is proper to pause here and consider briefly the 
consequences entailed upon the Church by "that early 
corruption in reference to the character of the Chris- 
tian ministry of which so many illustration^ have 
been given. 

I. To the extent that the sacerdotal theory was 
adopted there was a departure from the simplicity of 
the truth and from the one right way appointed by 
the great Head of the Church for the establishment 
of his kingdom upon earth. The pretext was a desire 
to increase the dignity of the ministerial office, but 
the error itself was not the less corrupting. It led to 
a grasping after the functions and titles both of the 
Jewish and pagan priesthoods. Bishops were styled 
high-priests, and the Bishop of Rome Pontifex Maxi- 
mus, the title bestowed upon a heathen emperor in 
his capacity of supreme director of the system of 



MULTIPLYING ERRORS. 9 1 

heathen worship. Deacons were called Levites, and 
the whole body of the clergy became occupied with 
pompous ritual ceremonies, instead of preaching the 
gospel and maintaining the plain and edifying wor- 
ship of the early Christians. 

2. A pretended priesthood necessitated a pre- 
tended sacrifice. Hence the invention of the mass 
and its logical sequence, the doctrine of transub- 
stantiation. Hence again the rejection of the cup 
in the eucharist, the multiplication of pretended 
sacraments, the idea of priestly absolution, and the 
consequent practice of confession to man rather than 
to God. 

3. While the figment of a Christian priesthood 
seemed to aim at exalting the clerical office, it 
flagrantly dishonored the great High-Priest of our 
profession. It obscured the glory of that complete 
redemption which he wrought out for sinners by his 
own full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, 
and satisfaction offered for the sins of the world. 
If Christ's sacrifice and offering of himself upon the 
cross was actually perfect and complete, then every 
attempt to offer a supplementary sacrifice must have 
been and must continue to be a mockery of truth, a 
trifling with sacred things,' and, indeed, a sacrilegious 
burlesque upon the most solemn transaction ever wit- 
nessed by earth or heaven. Think of the millions 
of such ceremonies enacted in the name of Chris- 
tianity. Consider the wide-spread misapprehension 
of the essential truths of Christianity inseparable 
from such a practice, and reflect that this misappre- 
hension not only pervades the popular mind, but is 



92 TENACITY OF ERROR. 

confirmed by the authoritative acts of great councils 
of the Church.* 

4. Notwithstanding such deplorable consequences 
of the sacerdotal dogma, spreading their influence 
over nations and centuries, and notwithstanding the 
fact that not once in the whole New Testament is 
the term priest, in the sense of one who offers sacri- 
fice, applied to an apostle or minister of the gospel, 
yet such is the tenacity of error that some Churches 
professedly reformed and emancipated from Romish 
doctrines still use the term priest, and maintain the 
ceremony of ordaining men to the priesthood ! Thus 
it is that even in Protestant countries and in the 
nineteenth century persons are educated to radical 
misconceptions of the Christian scheme, and prepared 
to advance from one grade of ritualism to another till 
they reach the bosom of a Church long distinguished 
as the nourishing mother of ecclesiastical corruptions. 

5. As extremes lead to extremes, we are compelled 
to regard the error now reprobated as chargeable with 
the opposite error by which some, seeking to avoid 

* Witness the standard doctrine of the Church of Rome "on the 
sacrifice of the mass" as determined by the Council of Trent: 

Canon i. "If any one shall say that a true and proper sacrifice is 
not offered to God in the mass, or that what is to be offered is nothing 
else than giving Christ to us to eat, let him be accursed. 

Canon 2. "If any one shall say that by these words, 'Do this in 
remembrance of me,' Christ did not appoint his apostles priests, or did 
not ordain that they and other priests should offer his body and blood, 
let him be accursed. 

Canon 3. "If any one shall say that the mass is only a service of 
praise and thanksgiving, or a bare commemoration of the sacrifice 
made on the cross, and not a propitiatory offering, or that it only ben- 
efits him who receives it, and ought not to be offered for the living and 
the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities, let 
him be accursed." 



A DARK MILLENNIUM. 93 

the consequences of the sacerdotal theory, attempt 
to ignore the ministerial office in Christianity, and 
deny all distinctions as between the ministry and 
membership of the Christian Church. The truth, as 
usual, lies between extremes, and the error last re- 
ferred to is, like its opposite, plainly confuted by the 
whole line of New Testament examples and precepts 
heretofore exhibited as illustrating the offices of the 
Christian Church and the functions of its ministry. 

During the ten centuries which intervened between 
the days of Chrysostom and Luther only here and 
there a true light shone amid surrounding darkness. 
And yet there was not an entire obliteration of the 
idea that a spiritual divine call was essential to the 
true minister. That idea floated dimly in the letter 
of ordination services long after the spirit had fled. 
The words of the Greek Church were, ''The divine 
grace which helpeth them that are weak and suppli- 
eth that which lacketh chose this godly deacon to be 
priest." The prayer for the ordination of a bishop 
prescribed by the Apostolical Constitutions contained 
these words : " Grant by thy name, O God, who 
searchest the hearts, that this thy servant whom 
thou hast chosen to be a bishop," etc. 

As bishops had the power to change the ritual of 
ordination in their several dioceses, it can not be af- 
firmed that uniformity prevailed either in the East or 
West, and it is likely that the form deteriorated with 
the conception of its meaning. But the form can 
not be considered of much importance when it ceased 
to represent a living faith on the part both of the 
Church and of the candidate for ordination. When 



94 PLURALITIES. 

from time to time men of earnest spirit strove to 
secure reforms, whether in monastic orders or in 
the Church at large, they usually directed their first 
efforts toward abuses of the clerical office and char- 
acter. Gregory of Nazianzen in his apologetical ora- 
tion declares in scathing language that the vices and 
disorders of the priesthood of his times had driven 
him to the wilderness, and he fervently pleads with 
priests to begin their solemn services with an obla- 
tion of themselves to God. 

At an early period of the hierarchical system mer- 
chandise began to be made of the house of God by 
non-residence and a plurality of livings. So-called 
priests contrived to perform their functions by proxy, 
and, though they devoured the income of the Churches, 
they personally avoided the duties of their office. This 
gave rise to action in successive councils, from that 
of Chalcedon, in the fifth century, to that of Trent, 
in the sixteenth, against the various forms of such 
abuses, though unhappily with but little effect.* 

*The abuse referred to has, even since the Reformation, notwith- 
standing all efforts against it, continued to prevail in the Church of 
England. Bishop Burnet's denunciations of it in the seventeenth cen- 
tury were unsparing, but comparatively powerless. One of his para- 
graphs briefly sets forth the nature of the case, and shows that even 
residence may be formal and maintained without the discharge of 
pastoral duty : 

"For a bare residence without laboring is but a mock residence, 
since the obligation to it is in order to a further end that they may 
'watch over' and 'feed their flock,' and not enjoy their benefices only 
as favors or as livings, according to the gross but common abuse of our 
language by which the names of cures, parishes, or benefices, which are 
the ecclesiastical names, are now swallowed up in that of 'living,' which 
carries a carnal idea in the very sound of the word, and, I doubt, a 
more carnal eflect on the minds of both clergy and laity." — Pastoral 
Care, chap. vi. 



BERNARD, 95 

Bernard of Clairvaux, in the twelfth century, de- 
nounces the ecclesiastics of his times as " heaping up 
benefices upon benefices, and restless till they can 
attain a bishopric, and then an archbishopric." 

"Nor," said he, "does the aspirant stop here; he posts to 
Rome, and, by supporting expensive friendships and lucrative 
connections, he looks upward still to the summit of power." 
" Men run every-where into sacred orders, and catch at an office 
revered by spirits above, without reverence, without considera- 
tion ; in whom, perhaps, would appear the foulest abominations, 
if we were, according to Ezekiel's prophecy, to dig into the 
walls, and contemplate the horrible things which take place in 
the house of God." 

Bernard, also, in one of his sermons, sketches the 
true minister in these terms : 

" He who is called to instruct souls is called of God, and not 
by his own ambition ; and what is this call but an inward incen- 
tive of love, soliciting us to be zealous for the salvation of our 
brethren." 

A prominent characteristic of the great Reforma- 
tion was an endeavor to return to the scriptural idea 
of the Christian ministry. Not only did the reform- 
ers reject the scheme of clerical priesthood and medi- 
ation, as opposed to the whole system of Christianity, 
but they insisted upon the personal divine call of 
every true minister. 

Luther recorded an impressive comment on Jere- 
miah xxiii, 21, 32. "I have not sent these prophets, 
yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they 
prophesied," etc. Making these words an occasion to 
address an intending minister, the great reformer said : 

"Await God's call. Meantime be satisfied. Yea, though 
thou wert wiser than Solomon and Daniel, yet, unless thou art 



96 RETURN TO THE SCRIPTURAL IDEA. 

called, avoid preaching as you would hell itself. If God shall 
not call you, let not your knowledge puff you up ; for God is 
never dependent on the labor of those who are ftot called, and, 
although they do some good things, they edify not. Yet, every- 
where those accomplish great things who teach, being truly 
called of God." 

Calvin taught similar doctrine, and, in accordance 
with the views of these great men and their asso- 
ciates, the Protestant Churches of the continent 
received the doctrine of a spiritual call as essential 
to every true minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It was, however, reserved for the reformers of the 
Church of England to put this subject in its true 
light by inserting in the office of ordination a solemn 
declaration on the part of every candidate for holy 
orders of his personal conviction that he is "moved 
by the Holy Ghost" to take upon himself this sacred 
ministration. Beginning with the lowest order of the 
ministry — that of deacon — they required the bishop to 
"examine every one of those who are to be ordered, 
in the presence of the people, after this manner fol- 
lowing: Do you trust that you are inwardly moved 
by the Holy Ghost to take upon you this office, to 
serve God for the promoting of his glory and the edi- 
fying of his people.'' Answer. I trust so." Similar 
questions were prescribed for priests and bishops, and 
Burnet well explains the motives and excellence of 
the action of the British reformers in this regard in 
the following language: 

" Our Church intended to raise the obligation of the pastoral 
care higher than it was before, and has laid out this matter more 
fully and more strictly than any Church ever did in any age, as 
far, at least, as my inquiries can carry me." " No Church before 



BURNET S TESTIMONY, 97 

ours at the Reformation took a formal sponsion at the altar from 
such as were ordained deacons and priests. That was, indeed, 
always demanded of bishops, but neither in the Roman nor 
Greek pontifical do we find any such solemn vows and promises 
demanded or made by priests or deacons, nor does any print of 
this appear in the constitutions or the ancient canons of the 
Church. Bishops were asked many questions, as appears by 
the first canon of the fourth council of Carthage. They were 
required to profess their faith and to promise to obey the canons, 
which is still observed in the Greek Church. The questions are 
more express in the Roman pontifical, and the first of these de- 
mands a promise 'that they will instruct their people in Chris- 
tian doctrine according to the holy Scriptures,' which was the 
foundation upon which our bishops justified the Reformation, 
since, the first and chief of all their vows binding them to this, 
it was to take place of all others, and if any other parts of those 
sponsions contradicted this, such as their obedience and adher- 
ence to the see of Rome, they said that these were to be limited 
by this." 

" Our reformers, observing all this, took great care in reform- 
ing the office of ordination, and they made both the charge ,lhat 
is given and the promises that are to be taken to be very express 
and solemn, so that both the ordainers and the ordained might 
be rightly instructed in their duty and struck with the awe and 
dread that they ought to be under in so holy and so important a 
performance, . . . yet to make the sense of these promises 
go deeper they are ordered to be made at the altar, and in the 
nature of a stipulation or covenant." 

"Our Church, by making our Savior's words the form of ordi- 
nation, must be construed to intend by that that it is Christ only 
that sends, and that the bishops are only his ministers to pro- 
nounce his mission." 

Forcibly, also, does the good bishop comment on 
the true significance of the solemn affirmation which 
the ministerial candidate not only makes before the 
Church, but seals with the holy sacrament: 

"This is the first step by which a man dedicates himself to 
the service of God, and therefore it ought not to be made by 
ahy that has not this divine vocation. Certainly the answer that 

9 



98 MINISTERIAL VOWS. 

is made to this ought to be well considered, for if any says 'I 
trust so' that yet knows nothing of any such motion and can 
give no account of it, he lies to the Holy Ghost, and makes his 
first approach to the altar with a lie in his mouth, and that not 
to men, but to God." . . . 

"If a man pretends a commission from a prince, or, indeed, 
from any person, and acts in his name upon it, the law will fall 
on him and punish him ; and shall the 'great God of heaven and 
earth' be thus vouched and his motion be pretended to by those 
whom he has neither called nor sent ? And shall he not reckon 
with those who dare to run without his mission, pretending that 
they trust they have it, when perhaps they understand not the 
importance of it — nay, and perhaps some laugh at it as an enthu- 
siastical question who will yet go through with the office ? They 
come to Christ for the loaves ; they hope to live by the altar and 
the gospel, how little soever they serve at the one or preach the 
other; therefore they will say any thing that is necessary for 
qualifying them to this, whether true or false." 

"The motives that ought to determine a man to dedicate him- 
self to ministering in the Church are a zeal for promoting the 
glorj of God, for raising the honor of the Christian religion, 
for the making it to be better understood and more submitted to. 
He that loves it and feelsthe excellency of it in himself, that has 
a due sense of God's goodness in it to mankind, and that is en- 
tirely possessed with that, will feel a zeal within himself for com- 
municating that to others, that so 'the only true God and Jesus 
Christ whom he has sent' may be more universally glorified and 
served by his creatures. And when to this he has added a con- 
cern for the souls of men, a tenderness for them, a zeal to rescue 
them from endless misery, and a desire to put them in the way 
to everlasting happiness, and from these motives feels in himself 
a desire to dedicate his life and labors to those ends, and in order 
to them studies to understand the Scriptures, and more particu- 
larly the New Testament, that from thence he may form a true 
notion of this holy religion, and so be an able minister of it — 
this man, and only this man so moved and so qualified, can in 
truth and with a good conscience answer ' that he trusts he is 
inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost,' and every one that ventures 
on the saying without this is a sacrilegious profaner of the name 
of God and of his Holy Spirit. He breaks in upon his Church, 
not to feed it, but to rob it, and it is certain that he who begins 



SAD DEPARTURES. 99 

with a lie may be sent by the father of lies, but he can not be 
thought to enter in by the door who prevaricates in the first 
word that he says in order to his admittance." 

Happy would it have been for the Church of En- 
gland, and fortunate for the world, had good Bishop 
Burnet's admonitions, in reference to this important 
subject, been heeded by all who have taken holy 
orders under the form of the. English ritual. But, 
alas, the tendency to formalism and secularity has 
never ceased to manifest itself in that as well as other 
Churches, especially those in which ministers of vari- 
ous grades are dependent on funded endowments and 
political patronage. Indeed, Bishop Burnet closes the 
" History of his own times " with several melancholy 
reflections, which, addressed in kind and affecting 
terms to the clergy of the Church of England, prove 
that the best of forms were of themselves insufficient 
to maintain a true spiritual character in the ministry. 
He says : 

" I have lamented, during my whole life, that I saw so little 
true zeal among our clergy." " I must own that the main body 
of our clergy has always appeared dead and lifeless to me, and, 
instead of animating one another, they seem rather to lay one 
another asleep." 

" Ordination weeks were always dreadful things to me when 
I remembered those words, ' lay hands suddenly on no man ; be 
not partaker of other men's sins ; keep thyself pure.' It is true, 
those who came to me were generally well prepared as to their 
studies, and they brought testimonials and titles, which is all 
that, in our present constitution, can be demanded. . . . But 
my principal care was to awaken their consciences to make them 
consider whether they had a motion of the Holy Ghost calling 
them to the function, and to make them apprehend what belonged 
both to a spiritual life and to the pastoral care. On these sub- 
jects I spoke much and often to every one of them apart, and 



100 CLERICAL DEGENERACY. 

sometimes to them all together, besides the public examination 
of them with my chapter. This was all that I could do. But, 
alas, how defective is this ! and it is too well known how easy 
the clergy are in signing testimonials." " I do not enter into 
the scandalous practices of non-residence and plurahties which 
are sheltered by so many colors of law among us ; whereas, the 
Church of Rome, from whence we had those and many other 
abuses, has freed herself from this under which we still labor, 
to our great and just reproach. This is so shameful a profana- 
tion of holy things that it ought to be treated with detestation 
and horror. Do such men think on the vows they made on 
their ordination, on the rules in the Scriptures, or on the nature 
of their function, or that it is a care of souls ?" 

Two generations later, the condition of things in 
the same Church was described by Fletcher of 
Madeley, in the following terms : 

" The minister of the present age is not ordinarily called to 
the holy ministry except by carnal motives, such as his own 
vanity or his peculiar taste for a tranquil and indolent life. Per- 
haps his vocation to the ministry is jDrincipally from his father 
and mother, who have determined that their son shall enter into 
holy orders. Very frequently, if the candidate for holy orders 
had sincerity enough to discover the real inchnation of his heart, 
he might make his submissions to the dignitaries of our Church 
and say, ' Put me, I pray you, into one of the priests' offices, 
that I may eat a piece of bread.' i Sam. ii, 36." 

Still later, Legh Richmond, who, as a clergyman 
of the Church of England, had occasion to know 
whereof he affirmed, uttered a similar lament. " The 
national Church," said he, " groans and bleeds, from 
the crown of its head to the sole of its feet, from the 
daily intrusion of unworthy men into the ministry." — 
Life, p. 475. 

The discerning reader will perceive that the grand 
lack indicated by the above extracts was that of per- 
sonal religious experience, and it was only a natural 



THE WESLEYAN REVIVAL. lOI 

and certain sequence that the fruits of a ministry thus 
deficient should appear in a deplorably low state of 
piety throughout the Church and nation. Of that 
state of things the records of the times give many 
sad proofs. Witness the statement of an English 
writer in reference to the religious condition of Great 
Britain preceding the Wesleyan reformation : 

" The great body of the clergy neither knew nor cared about 
systems of any kind, and in a vast number of instances they 
were immoral — often grossly so. The. populace in the large 
towns were ignorant and profligate ; the inhabitants of villages 
added to ignorance and profligacy brutish and barbarous man- 
ners. A more striking instance of the rapid decay of religious 
light and influence in a country scarcely occurs than in ours, 
from the Restoration till the rise of Methodism. It aflfected not 
only the Church, but the dissenting sects, in no ordinary degree. 
The Presbyterians had commenced their downward course 
through Arianism to Socinianism; and those who held the doc- 
trines of Calvin, had, in too many instances, fallen into the fatal 
errors of Antinomianism. There were exceptions, but this was 
the general state of religion and morals in the country when the 
Wesleys, Whitefield, and a few kindred spirits, went forth to 
sacrifice ease, reputation, and even life itself, if necessary, to 
produce a reformation."* 

In the great revival which followed the labors of 
these devoted men, deserved prominence was given 
to the doctrine of a personal and divine call to the 
ministry, and a series of events occurred which served 
to place the subject in a strong light before the 
Churches, both of England and America. The Wes- 
leys, even after their conscious experience of justifica- 
tion by faith, and after they had been thrust out as it 
were into the highways and hedges, still held, with 
considerable firmness, the notions of Church order 

* Moore's Life of Wesley. 



1 02 LAV PRE A CHING. 

in which they had been educated. They could per- 
ceive the importance of lay co-operation, in various 
ways, for promoting the work of the Lord ; but the 
idea that any but authorized clergymen could appro- 
priately preach the gospel had to be taught them by 
particular providences, or the logic of events. Never- 
theless, by that impressive mode of teaching, John 
Wesley especially was enabled to see the subject of 
the ministerial call in that clear practical light in 
which he afterward acted in forming plans and di- 
recting measures which, under the divine blessing, 
have produced such happy and far-reaching results 
ever . since. 

The event which first enlarged his views on this 
subject is thus narrated by Stevens : 

"Hitherto Wesley's lay 'helpers' had been but exhorters and 
readers, and 'expounders' of the Scriptures; but 'lay preach- 
ing' was now formally begun. Thomas Maxfield, occupying the 
desk of the Foundery, in Wesley's absence, had been led to devi- 
ate from these restrictions. Wesley received a letter at Bristol 
informing him of the fact. His prejudices for ' Church order' 
were still strong, and he hastened to London, with no little 
alarm, to check the new irregularity. His mother was still at 
hand, however, to guide him. Retired in the parsonage of the 
Foundery, lingering at the verge of the grave, and watching unto 
prayer over the marvelous developments wiiich were occurring 
in the religious world around her, through the instrumentality 
of her family, she read the indications of the times with a wiser 
sagacity than her son, and was now to accomplish her last con- 
trolling agency in the Methodist movement, and to introduce an 
innovation by which, more than any other fact in its ministerial 
economy, it has been sustained and extended in the world. She 
perceived, on his arrival, that his countenance expressed dissat- 
isfaction and anxiety, and inquired the cause. 'Thomas Max- 
field,' he replied with unusual abruptness, 'has turned preacher, 
I find.' She reminded him of her own sentiments against lay 



A NEW INSTAU RATION. IO3 

preaching, and that he could not suspect her of favoring any 
thing of the kind. ' But take care,' she added, 'what you do re- 
specting that young man ; he is as surely called of God to 
preach as you are.' She counseled him to examine what had 
been the fruits of Maxfield's preaching, and to hear him also 
himself. He heard him : ' it is the Lord, let him do what seem- 
eth to him good,' was all he could further say, and Thomas 
Maxfield became the first of that host of itinerant lay preachers 
which has since carried the standard of the gospel more tri- 
umphantly over the world than any other class of the modern 
Christian ministry." 

The good accomplished by the system of measures 
thus providentially introduced was by no means lim- 
ited to the societies or Churches that have been known 
as Wesleyan. Indeed, it was no part of Wesley's 
original intention to form any such associations, and 
when, in the course of events, they seemed to be dic- 
tated to him as a providential necessity, he neither 
separated from the Church of England, nor circum- 
scribed his broad catholicity toward other Churches. 
Through life he regarded the world as his parish, and 
all men as his brethren. Whitefield also threw him- 
self into the broadest possible arena of Christian 
effort. He entered every open door of usefulness, 
and again and again made the circuit both of Great 
Britain and the United States, visiting and arousing 
the Churches of every name and phase of theological 
belief. Every-where he seized opportunities to arouse 
ministers as well as people. One of his favorite dis- 
courses was " on the duty of a gospel minister," m 
which he maintained, as his first proposition, that 
'' every minister, before he undertakes to preach the 
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, from a full evidence 
of a work of conversion, ought to be enabled to say, 



1 04 HAPPY RESUL TS. 

" The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
anointed me to preach the gospel." By such agencies 
and efforts the animus of that great reUgious awaken- 
ing became contagious, and the leading views and 
measures by which it was promoted came to be, in no 
small degree, the common property of evangelical de- 
nominations throughout the Protestant world. 

From this or whatever cause, it is no exaggeration 
to say that during the last hundred years a higher 
and more spiritual conception of the ministerial call 
has prevailed in the more active branches of the 
Christian Church than at any former period since 
the days of the apostles. To this very fact may be 
attributed the more rapid spread of Christian truth, 
the wider diffusion of missionary zeal and effort, the 
more general prevalence of revivals, and more en- 
couraging prospects for the conversion of the whole 
world to God. Thus we have a practical comment 
upon an important phase of the truth as it is in 
Jesus, a historical illustration of the excellence of 
the Savior's plan of sending forth laborers into his 
harvest in answer to the prayers and in conformity 
with the co-operation of his Church. Such results 
are in striking contrast with the practical apostasy of 
the Church and its fearful degradation during periods 
and in regions where that plan was ignored or set at 
naught. 



SCRIPTURAL FACTS. 105 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MINISTERIAL CALL— PRACTICAL VIEW. 

THE subject of the ministerial call will now be 
treated in the light of facts and arguments 
already developed. Henceforth it will be assumed 
that the Christian ministry is not a priesthood, but 
a service, of which the preaching of the The ministry a 
gospel and the pastoral office are the "^^^^^ 
leading functions ; that to this ministry ^ twofold caii. 
it is the office of the Holy Spirit to call all who are 
needed in the public service of the Christian sanctu- 
ary, and also that it is a function of the Church not 
only to pray that such calls may be given, but to 
authenticate them when given, as a means of pro- 
moting both the order and efficiency of the work of 
the Lord. 

Clearly and strongly do the New Testament Script- 
ures corroborate this view of the Christian ministry. 
The Savior publicly authenticated his own saipturai ex- 
divine mission by reading that prophecy ^'"p'^^- 
of Isaiah which ages before had announced his advent 
in terms that not only heralded the new dispensation, 
but graphically portrayed its character. "The Spirit 
of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me 
to preach the gospel to the poor, ... to preach 



I06 PAULS CONVICTIONS. 

the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke iv, 16-22. 
Subsequently he represented himself as specially 
sent of the Father, and said to his disciples, "As my 
Father hath sent me, even so send I you." "As 
thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I 
also sent them into the world," . . . "that the 
world may believe that thou hast sent me."* In 
his instructions to his disciples he said : " Whoso- 
ever will be great among you shall be your minis- 
ter, and whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall 
be servant of all. For even the Son of man came 
not to be ministered unto, but to minister." Mark 

X, 43-45- 

The apostles acted upon these instructions. Soon 
after the Pentecost "the twelve called the multitude 
of the disciples unto them and said, . . . We will 
give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry 
of the word." Acts vi, 2-4. "Therefore, seeing we 
have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we 
faint not. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ 
Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for 
Jesus' sake." 2 Cor. iv, 15. "All things are of 
God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus 
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of recon- 
ciliation." V, 18. "We then, as workers together 
with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the 
grace of God in vain, giving no offense 

Apostolic view. 

m any thing, that the ministry be not 
blamed, but in all things approving ourselves as the 
ministers of God." 2 Cor. vi, i, 3, 4. "I thank 
Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for 

*See John vii, 28; viii, 26, 29, 42 ; xvii, 18-23 ; xx, 21. 



ANALYSIS OF THE SUBJECT. 10/ 

that he counted me faithful, putting me into the 
ministry." i Tim. i, 12. "None of these things 
move me, neither count I my Ufe dear unto myself, 
so that I might finish my course with joy, and the 
ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to 
testify the gospel of the grace of God." Acts xx, 24. 

What language could be more conclusive than this 
of the proper character of the Christian ministry ! 
From the beginning to the end of their career the 
apostles understood themselves to be, not priests or 
mediators, but the servants of God and of their breth- 
ren, nevertheless divinely commissioned to preach 
the gospel and to maintain a self-sacrificing over- 
sight of the Churches. Such has been and ever will 
be the appointment and work of every true minister 
of the Lord Jesus. 

At this point certain practical questions of great 
moment arise, i. In what manner does Appropriate 
God call his ministers 1 2. How may an '"q""^^^- 
individual certainly know that he is called of God to 
the ministry.'* 3, By what signs may the Church be 
satisfied of the divine call of a ministerial candidate ? 
These questions deserve thoughtful consideration. 

I. In reference to the manner in which God calls 
his ministers, it is important to bear in mind the in- 
finitude of the divine resources. The Holy Spirit is 
not hmited in his modes of action. "There are diver- 
sities of gifts, but the same Spirit, And there are 
differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the 
same God which worketh all in all." i Cor. xii, 6-9. 
Hence we must carefully avoid all theories which 



I08 VARIETY IN UNITY. 

would mar just conceptions of the divine freedom 
or seem to confine the Spirit's action to any given 
form or routine. 

We find iiifinite variety in the products and pro- 
cesses of the material creation. The world of mind 
Diversity of IS cqually diversified. Even Christian ex- 
modes, perience is varied. Among all the millions 
of those who have passed through the strait gate of 
repentance into the joy of saving faith, however great 
the general features of resemblance, the spiritual exer- 
cises of no two individuals have been precisely alike. 
Ought it not, therefore, to be expected that in the 
manifestations of the Spirit given to different men 
there will also be "diversities of operations?" Such 
certainly there have been in the history of the past. 
Take the case of the apostles of our Lord. Peter, 
Andrew, James, and John were called to be "fishers 
of men" at the very moment they were invited to be 
followers of Jesus, consequently before their conver- 
sion. Matthew iv, 18-21. Of the remainder of the 
twelve, we may infer that they had already chosen to 
become our Lord's disciples, and had become, under 
his instructions, somewhat matured in Christian prin- 
ciple and purpose before he made known to them 
his will as to their public duty. The sacred record 
touching this point is brief but significant : "And he 
goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom 
he would, and they came unto him. And he ordained 
twelve, that they should be with him, and that he 
might send them forth to preach." Mark iii, 13, 14. 
"And it came to pass in those days that he went out 
into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in 



EXPERIENCES MULTIFORM. IO9 

prayer to God. And when it was day he called unto 
him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom 
also he named apostles." Luke vi, 12, i^* The call 
of Matthias through the suffrage of the Church, and 
that of Paul, communicated to him, immediately after 
his miraculous awakening, by the voice of Ananias, 
form additional illustrations of the various modes by 
which, in apostolic times, the divine Spirit accom- 
plished similar ends. So in modern times experi- 
ences in reference to the ministerial call differ widely. 
A comparison of the mental exercises by which a 
thousand different ministers of any given Modem expe- 
period have reached the common result "^"<^^^- 
of a devout persuasion that they were moved by 
the Holy Ghost to take upon themselves the sacred 
office, while it might suggest a classification of experi- 
ences, would hardly discover any absolute identity. 
It would be found that some received distinct 
impressions of this duty in early childhood, which 
grew with their growth and strengthened with their 
strength. Others who- received similar impressions 
sought to reject them, and by a course of sin grieved 
the Holy Spirit. They put in jeopardy their souls' 
salvation while endeavoring, Jonah-like, to escape from 
duty; nevertheless the Spirit strove with them, and 
before it was wholly too late they yielded to his 
call. Some had distinct impressions of this duty 
before their conversion, and some even for a long- 
period refused to seek God in their unwillingness 
to acknowledge his claims upon them to preach the 
gospel. On some minds the conviction of ministe- 
rial duty flashed with the suddenness of a startling 



no DIVINE PREROGATIVE. 

revelation. To others it came almost imperceptibly, 
like the gradual dawning of the day. Still others 
have received the divine call in the same voice which 
uttered their pardon. To some it has been made 
known in silence and solitude, to others in the midst 
of public assemblies and under the ministration of 
the preached word. While some have received the 
sacred call without the intervention of man, to many 
others it has been brought with the voice or by the 
agency of Christian friendship. Some have reached 
their profoundest convictions by a species of relig- 
ious instinct, others by slow processes of reasoning, 
and by a careful comparison of conflicting claims 
and impulses. 

While it may not be allotted to individuals to choose 
the methods by which it may please God to lead them 
into the pathway of ministerial duty, it is supremely 
important that every one be enabled to discern and 
rightly interpret indications of the divine will in what- 
ever form they may be vouchsafed. As it is the pre- 
rogative of the Head of the Church to call and send 
forth the laborers into the harvest field of the world, 
so it is the province and responsibility of individual 
Christians to consider and determine the question of 
duty for themselves. No one, however, is at liberty 
to demand miraculous or compulsory evidence. 

The evidences required to substantiate a ministerial 
call may be expected to be in harmony with the anal- 
ogies of Christian experience, and consequently not 
only to be various in the history of different persons, 
but to have different stages of development in the 
case of each individual. A discriminating analysis of 



PROPER EVIDENCES. Ill 

the experience of persons truly called to the ministry 
of the gospel will usually indicate periods like the fol- 
lowing : I. That of awakening and inquiry. 2. That 
of conviction, more or less clear. 3. That of settled 
purpose and determined action. 

It is evident, therefore, that no person, in the first 
stage of this experience, should demand 
the same evidences that may be accorded stages of 
to him in the third. By overlooking this 
principle, some have made serious mistakes. Like 
sinners who refuse the persuasions of truth and the 
convictions of judgment, and remain unwilling to yield 
to the divine claims unless overvv^helmed with terror, 
so some make excuses against ministerial duty unless, 
from the first, they feel like Paul, in the maturity of 
his apostolic career, '' Woe is me if I preach not the 
gospel." 

Christian young men, about to form their plans for 
life, should be careful not to err at this point and re- 
ject the claims of Christ and his cause upon* them 
because those claims are not at once and imperatively 
asserted. They should be aware that upon themselves 
devolves the duty of consideration and decision, and 
upon them will fall the consequences of mistake. 
Nothing, therefore, can be more appropriate than for 
them to inquire, in the language and spirit of the 
awakened Saul of Tarsus, *' Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do T This question, and nothing less than this, 
covers the whole ground. But it is of too solemn im- 
port to be determined hastily, or without a full con- 
sideration of whatever might legitimately tend to its 
solution. Prior to reaching its deepest merits, most 



1 1 2 POSSIBLE INCLINA TIONS. 

minds will encounter some inquiries that are in their 
nature preliminary and incidental, although they have 
often been magnified unduly, and treated as of ulti- 
Minorques- matc iniportancc. Such are questions of 
tions. taste, of predisposition, of comparative use- 

fulness, of the wants of the Church or of mission 
fields. While an affirmative view of these and simi- 
lar questions might corroborate a higher persuasion 
of duty, yet a negative view of them would not be 
sufficient to contravene it. For instance, if 'one's 
natural tastes should harmonize with the duties of 
ministerial life, he might rejoice in the prospect of 
congenial occupation, and pray that his very pleasures 
might be sanctified to the glory of God in the divine 
service. If, however, his natural tastes should incline 
him in quite another direction, that would not be a 
sufficient reason for resisting a manifest call of duty, 
in the discharge of w^hich his primary inclinations 
might be wholly changed, and his tastes made to con- 
form with the controlling purpose of his life. In the 
one case, grace might be expected to subsidize nature ; 
in the other, to transform and renew it. 

Respecting other questions of this class, somewhat 
different remarks may be made. In reference to the 
idea of usefulness, it may be accepted as a general 
principle, that every Christian should pursue that 
course of life which promises most for the good 
of men and the glory of God. Nevertheless, one's 
usefulness in life often depends so much on circum- 
stances over which he has no control, and on contin- 
gencies which he can not definitely foresee, that it is 
only safe to commit his ways to the Lord and trust 



PERSONAL DUTY. II3 

to the divine guidance to bring the best results to 
pass, rather than to interpose personal inclinations or 
hasty inductions as to that which he can not prede- 
termine. The wants of the Church and of the world 
for faithful ministers and missionaries may be, as it 
usually is, intensely urgent ; but that fact of itself does 
not prove that any or every individual is called to the 
peculiar work of the ministry. In all circumstances, 
the great majority of pious persons are not called to 
that work, as may be seen in all Churches. Never- 
theless, when a deep sense of the wants of the world 
presses like a burden on the soul of a believer, 
accompanied with a strong anxiety to relieve those 
wants, such feelings may justly be regarded as pre- 
paratory to more specific indications of the divine 
will to be manifested in due time. 

While, therefore, preliminaries may be allowed their 
just weight, yet the great central question The great cen- 
of personal duty must be regarded as ^"^^1 question. 
mainly an issue between the inquirer and his Maker. 
The chief anxiety, then, should be to know the will 
of God, as superior to all other considerations. While 
it need not be doubted that God has a specific work 
for every one of his servants to do, it should be re- 
membered that his modes of making known that will 
are various, and act somewhat differently upon difier- 
ent minds. The more usual modes by Modes of its 
which the divine will is indicated in calling s°'"''0"- 
ministers to preach the gospel are the following : 

1. The direct action of the Holy Spirit. 

2. The corroborative action of one's own judgment. 

3. Providential guidance. 

10 



114 ^^^ SPIRIT'S CALL. 

4. The coincident action of the Church. 

5. A harmonious concurrence of legitimate reasons. 
I. T/ie direct action of the Holy Spirit. So long 

as the apostolic inquiry, " How shall they preach 
except they be sent T' has force, it will be a pri- 
mary anxiety on the part of every well-instructed 
inquirer, in reference to ministerial duty, to know 
"the mind of the Spirit" in relation to himself per- 
sonally. Those who believe that nothing is made 
without a purpose, can never doubt that the great 
Designer of the universe has a will with reference to 
each one of his creatures. The fact that the great 
majority of human beings, and even of sincere Chris- 
tians, are left to determine inferentially God's will, as 
to their proper course of life, is no bar to the proba- 
bility that, in a work designed to be controlled by the 
divine prerogative, special manifestations should be 
made to those whom the Head of the Church would 
send forth into his vineyard. Indeed, such manifes- 
tations are not only to be considered probable, but 
necessary, to a spiritual ministry. Yet, as the human 
mind can only comprehend the fact and not the mode 
of the Spirit's action, the best of men are not free 
from the possibility of misapprehension in reference 
to this important subject. While it would be wrong 
to suppose that the Spirit acts upon all persons in 
precisely the same manner, it would be equally erro- 
The divine im- ucous to imagine that, in any case, the 
not^compili-^''^ divine' impulse is compulsory, or so far 
^°^- controlling as to relieve the subject from 

the full exercise of his volition in reference to the 
duty indicated. On this and various other points 



DR. OLIN'S VIEWS. II5 

involved in the subject, the late Doctor Olin has 
written so well that no apology will be made for in- 
troducing several paragraphs from his essay on a call 
to the ministry.* 

" A call to the ministry may be defined to be a persuasion 
wrought by the Holy Spirit in the mind of an individual that it 
is his duty to become a preacher of the gospel. It is recognized 
b}' the subject of it, simply as a conviction of duty ^ which, how- 
ever, is properly ascribed to the Holy Spirit, the divine agent 
which produces all pious emotions and purposes. Tliis impres- 
sion varies greatly in clearness and intensity in different indi- 
viduals, and in the same individual at different times. At first 
it may be perceived only in the form of a casual suggestion, a 
transient desire, or a mere inquiry awakened in the mind by 
reflection, reading, conversation, or other ordinary means ; and 
it is commonly developed and matured by prayer, by self-exam- 
ination, by perusing the Scriptures, by hearing the gospel, by 
pious conference, by meditating upon the wants of the Church 
and of the world — in a word, by all those means which deepen 
piety and make more fervent our love to Christ. The progress 
of the mind, from first impressions to a thorough and abiding 
conviction, is sometimes slow, and may possibly be the work of 
years. It is commonly found, however, that the views of one 
who ultimately attains to clear evidence of his call to the min- 
istry, become clear and settled with a rapidity proportioned to 
his growth in grace and habitual fidelity to the Redeemer's 
cause. The distressing and protracted doubts with regard to 
the subject, which oppress so many minds, may commonly be 
traced to superficial piety, to worldly feeling, and an unwilling- 
ness to engage in a work so abhorrent to sloth, ambition, and- 
selfishness. A few individuals who are doomed to struggle with 
morbid peculiarities of mind or body, or with the prejudices of 
a vicious education, may be long in attaining to a satisfactory 
evidence with regard to the path of duty ; but in most, perhaps 
in all other cases, it is reasonable to expect that the humble, the 
obedient, and the teachable will soon be relieved from all painful 
uncertainty. 

The feebleness and indistinclness of first impressions should 

* Works, Vol. II, p. 254. Also Tract No. 1S7, M. E. Church. 



Il6 DANGER OF INDIFFERENCE. 

not be taken as an argument against their genuineness. On the 
contrary, it seems to be most consistent with the whole economy 
of the gospel, that the manifestation of the Spirit should, at first, 
be only sufficient to awaken the attention and to excite the mind 
to a course of inquiry and self-examination, and that it should 
shine irpon us in a clearer light in answer to our prayers and in 
aid of our humble endeavors to ascertain and perform our duty. 
Every part of the gospel economy is conformed to the condition 
of man in a state of probation, and it may be doubted whether 
the Holy Spirit ever exerts an influence upon the human mind 
be3-ond its power of prompt and easy resistance. But without 
stopping to inquire whether there are any exceptions to the 
great law by which the divine agent is pleased to regulate his 
own operations, we may rest assured that, in calling to the min- 
istry, as well as in his other offices, •' a manifestation of the Spirit 
is given to profit withal ;' that ' to him that hath, more shall be 
given ;' and that they who are graciously visited by this divine 
light may, at their option, follow or extinguish it. There is a 
palpable and perilous mistake on this subject, which prevails 
very extensively in the Church. Many young men, who have 
been led to think it their dut}' to devote themselves to the min- 
istr}', give no heed to this impression, under a vain belief that, 
if the call be genuine, it will become more loud and importunate 
for being neglected. They imagine, I know not upon what 
ground, that this work of the Spirit diflfers essentially from all 
its other operations, and they seem to demand that its influence 
shall be irresistible before they will cease to resist it. The prac- 
tical effects of this pernicious error are often no less instructive 
than melanchoh'. The -holy Visitant which was given to en- 
lighten, not to control the mind, is grieved by neglect and 
disobedience. Incipient convictions of duty grow feeble and 
confused, and the feelings subside into a fearful indifference, 
which is too often regarded as sufficient proof that God has 
not spoken." 

In order to see this subject in its proper light 
it is well to observe closely the analomes 

Analogies of _ -^ 

Christian ex- bctwccn Christian and ministerial experi- 
penence. encc. Tlic human mind is not drawn to 

repentance and humiliation before God by Satanic 



LIGHT FOLLOWS OBEDIENCE. 11/ 

or worldly influence, but only by the Spirit of grace 
and truth. So when a man is moved to a life of 
self-denial and cross-bearing, especially in connection 
with acts of obedience and devotion, he is at liberty 
to infer, from the first, that the impulse is divine. 
But, inasmuch as it is a duty to "try the spirits, 
whether they are of God," so great a matter as this 
should be brought with special urgency before the 
throne of grace, and if, in answer to sincere and fer- 
vent prayers for divine light and guidance, the im- 
pression is deepened and confirmed, what reasonable 
doubt can a Christian man entertain as to God's will 
concerning him ? 

It is obvious that when a devout person has reached 
the conviction that God is calling him to ministerial 
duty, his immediate and only true course is to yield a 
willing compliance by saying, in humble but grateful 
resignation, " Here am I, send me." Following such 
a response and corresponding action he may expect 
increasing light and growing clearness of conviction, 
whereas hesitation to obey and a disposition to say, 
" I pray thee have me excused," often results in griev- 
ing the Holy Spirit and bringing darkness, doubt, 
and sorrow upon the soul. In the former case the 
sense of duty, like the pathway of true Christian 
experience, may be expected to grow brighter and 
brighter, whereas in the latter it is often beclouded 
and involved in gloom. 

While, therefore, as in reference to our personal 
salvation we are to examine ourselves carefully as a 
means of knowing what is our true spiritual condi- 
tion, so in regard to the ministerial call, it is possible, 



Il8 IMPORTANCE OF A CLEAR CONVICTION, 

by a careful scrutiny of our own consciousness and 
of the influence of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts, 
to know assuredly that we are the subjects of a 
sacred impulse toward the peculiar work and respon- 
sibility of the Christian ministry. It is little to say 
that a positive conviction of this fact is a primary 
and an essential basis of true ministerial character. 

2. TJie coji'oborative action of ones own judgment. 
Although it is not within the province of any man 
to reply against God's just claims upon him, yet 
those claims are rarely if ever asserted unless upon 
the basis of good and sufficient reasons. Whether, 
then, one's natural feelings revolt against a self- 
denying service or his religious feelings exult in an 
apparent privilege, it is proper that every person 
considering the question of ministerial duty should 
calmly and thoughtfully inquire into the nature of 
the work required and his personal adaptation to its 
performance. Although to worldly minds the re- 
proach of the cross has not ceased and may never 
cease, yet to a mind illuminated by the Holy Spirit 
it is not difficult to perceive that in the nature of 
the case no human engagement can be more digni- 
fied than the direct and exclusive service of God. 
Of what value is the honor of men in its highest 
phases in comparison with the honor that cometh 
down from God in a special call to be an embassador 
of the Lord Jesus Christ .^ The work of the ministry 
must be regarded as an engagement of 

Intrinsic dig- ° , . 

nity of the min- thc liighcst possiblc dignity and responsi- 
bility, not only as arising from the divine 
appointment, but also from its aims and objects. 



OBJECTS OF THE MINISTRY.- II9 

These relate exclusively to the task of mitigating the 
woes of humanity and elevating our race from misery 
to happiness, from the deformity of sin to the for- 
feited image and favor of God. When exemplified 
in its purity it aims solely to confer blessings upon 
those for whom it toils. It thus imitates the very 
beneficence of its author. The importance of this 
work is further obvious from its being unique among 
the callings and engagements of men. No other 
can be found so exclusively designed and so directly 
adapted to promote the welfare of individuals and 
the good of society. Besides, its demands are urgent 
beyond expression. The wail of millions perishing 
for lack of knowledge is but an echo of the claims 
which God and humanity assert upon the time and 
talents of those who devote their lives to the rescue 
of immortal souls from the power of Satan and the 
consequences of sin. 

These considerations must not be allowed, on the 
one hand, to attract or elate a person who might 
desire a noble occupation, nor, on the other, to dis- 
hearten one who is diffident of his own capacities 
for such a vocation. While, therefore, the inquirer 
should not fail to consider the ministerial work in 
the full light of its dignity and its urgency, he should 
with equal candor inquire into the possibility of his 
being enabled by grace to accomplish it in some 
good degree. 

At this point it is well to remember that ministe- 
rial capacity is, in an important sense, an Ministerial 
acquired talent. No one knows how much pencio"^ 'o,J 
he can accomplish for God and the Church cultivation. 



120 A CALL TO PREPARATION. 

until he has thoroughly disciplined and cultivated the 
powers which God has bestowed upon him. Nor is 
it possible for a more inspiring appeal to be addressed 
to a human mind to arouse itself in behalf of a high 
and liberal cultivation than that which accompanies a 
conviction that the great God demands the individ- 
ual's noblest powers and largest efforts in his own 
immediate service. That a suitable response may be 
made to this appeal is in harmony with the well- 
established fact that a great majority of ministers re- 
Advantages of ceive the Spirit's call to the sacred office 
an early call. • j^ ^^ early stagcs of Christian experience, 
and usually in early life. 

To such "a precious season is allotted for improvement, nor 
can it be reasonably doubted that this is the special design of 
God in giving so early an intimation of his will. The course 
of duty is plain and imperative. This auspicious season should 
be devoted to the cultivation of the mind. This is now no less 
a dtity than preaching the gospel will be hereafter, and they 
who permit such opportunities to pass unimproved give no 
promise of future usefulness. Indeed, there is very little prob- 
abihty that they will ever reach the sacred office. It is pre- 
cisely at this point in their progress that young men in the 
circumstances referred to are exposed to the greatest danger, 
and that multitudes of them make shipwreck of their purposes. 
Instead of devoting themselves to pursuits congenial and auxil- 
iary to the ministry, and of considering the cultivation of the 
mind an imperative duty resulting from their sacred destination, 
they suffer themselves to drift along with the current of affairs, 
without purpose or proper employment, the creatures of im- 
pulses and of circumstances. What wonder if their energies 
become relaxed, their religious affections chilled, and their spir- 
itual light darkened? What wonder if they are swept away by 
the flood of temptation and swallowed up in the great deep of 
worldly cares ? Let the pious young man who believes that he 
is called to the ministry reflect that he is with equal certainty 
called to make the best possible preparation for the ministry. 



ESSENTIAL ATTAINMENTS. 121 

If it would be a grievous offense against God to refuse obedi- 
ence to his vocation, a full measure of the same guilt is incurred 
by neglecting to make all the improvement for which Providence 
supplies such ample opportunities." * 

In cases where mental preparation has been neg- 
lected at the proper period it may not be easy to say 
to what extent the disability should be borne by the 
individual, or the Church, or both. Much may de- 
pend on the possibility of overcoming, by extra exer- 
tion, the embarrassments entailed by former neglect. 
Not only mental capacity and cultivation should be 
regarded essential to the ministerial work, but a cor- 
responding power of public address. In all these 
respects it is possible for a person, by the aid of 
judicious friends and without self-flattery, to form a 
just estimate of his adaptation to the work of the 
ministry. But it must ever be remembered that mere 
capacity is quite insufficient. There must 

■^ -^ Moral adapta- 

be a lively sympathy with the duties of tion indispen- 
the ministry, a controlling desire to be 
engaged in them, and worthy motives for their ac- 
complishment. In all these respects it is the special 
province of one's own judgment and consciousness 
to determine whether or not he has suitable adap- 
tations for such employment. Others may judge of 
him outwardly, but can only determine the charac- 
ter of his heart and feelings by its embodiment in 
action, whereas that character is ever present with 
himself, and if he finds it out of harmony with the 
high purposes and engagements of the ministry he 
has no right to enter the sacred vocation. If, how- 

* Olin. 

II 



122 CAUTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 

ever, on strict and prolonged scrutiny he finds that 
he has the requisite sympathies, desires, and motives, 
he may safely surrender himself to what he may then 
be confirmed in believing to be the call of the Holy 
Spirit. Otherwise he is only at liberty to pray for 
the needed transformation, and patiently wait until it 
is wrought. 

To enter the Christian ministry from worldly mo- 
insufficient tivcs, such as the love of ease, quiet, popu- 
motives. larity, or emolument, is the height of sacri- 

lege. Motives that might be honorable in reference to 
secular vocations are far below the standard required 
here. In the choice of a profession or avocation in life, 
as that subject ordinarily presents itself to a young 
man, he is quite at liberty to consult both his inclina- 
tion and his interest ; but one who should be governed 
by these considerations in entering the holy ministry 
would not only act unworthily, but incur the danger 
of offending God and ruining his own soul. In this 
service self-interest and personal advantage must be 
held in abeyance, or only regarded in the light of 
another world, and through the medium of entire 
submission to the will of God. If, when an inquirer 
has thoroughly canvassed this subject, he is enabled 
to see that whatever may have been his original in- 
clinations, he is finally drawn to the Christian minis- 
try as to a divine agency, in which it will be the 
privilege of his life to labor, and in which he may, 
reasonably hope for success in proportion to the di- 
vine aid he may receive, this corroborative action of 
his judgment will become to him a strong internal 
evidence of duty not to be rejected. 



OBSTACLES REMOVED OR INTERPOSED. 1 23 

3. Providential guidance. " It is not in man that 
walketh to direct his steps."* " The steps of a good 
man are ordered by the Lord."t Hence it is only 
proper that every one anxious to know his duty should 
seek to derive all possible instruction from the various 
providences of which he may be the subject. It some- 
times happens that when the first convictions of duty 
fasten upon the mind, the individual is confronted 
with obstacles that seem insuperable. Like the chil- 
dren of. Israel escaping from Egypt, while Pharaoh 
pursues from behind, and mountains rise on either 
side, the sea flows across the track in which he is 
commanded to go forward. If at such a juncture the 
waters divide, and a dry path appears leading through 
the deep, impressions may well rise to convictions, 
and the inquirer thenceforth feel that no room is left 
for him to doubt the divine will as to his duty. On 
the other hand, when the individual's way is abso- 
lutely hedged up, and with his best efforts he is un- 
able to accomplish a preparation adapted to the work 
and acceptable to the Church, he may consider him- 
self providentially excused from public duty, however 
his sympathies may be enlisted in it. Hinderances 
of this kind sometimes come from a failure of health, 
or the necessity of providing for the wants of depend- 
ent relatives, and should be accepted with cheerfulness 
and resignation, however the subject of them might 
regard it as a privilege to work for God in a higher 
sphere. Duties may be various and complicated, but 
they can never be antagonistic. Sometimes one who, 
like Jonah, seeks to flee from duty more or less plainly 

* Jer. X, 23. tPs. xxxvii, 23. 



124 PROVIDENTIAL REPROOFS. 

made known, finds himself terribly rebuked by oppos- 
ing providences. There are instances in which the 
truant yields to this severe instruction in time not 
to wholly forfeit his opportunities of usefulness. In 
other cases, the lesson is learned too late, and a life 
of practical rebellion terminates in melancholy failure. 
While extreme cases like these occur, yet more usu- 
ally persons are left to infer the divine will from less 
striking indications. In fact, providences are kindly 
adapted to favor pious desires, and to reprove indiffer- 
ence. As indicated above, a call in early life should 
be regarded as a specially favorable providence. Dif- 
ficulties may beset the young man's way, but the act 
of overcoming difficulties may also be an essential 
element of his proper preparation for the work to 
which God is guiding him. Opportunities and pos- 
sibilities are the gift of God. A proper improvement 
of them is the duty of man. Not until such an im- 
provement is made can any one know the extent of 
the usefulness to which he is called. 

4. The coincident action of the Church. Thus far 
the subject has been considered from a personal point 
of view, in the light of one's obligations to himself 
and to God. There is another important aspect from 
which it is to be regarded. Ministerial duty, high 
and responsible as it is, is in fact only a part of the 
work of the Church as a whole. Hence it becomes 
important to have the co-operative judgment and 
action of the Church to sanction and publicly authen- 
ticate individual conviction. This fact has been rec- 
ognized from the earliest periods of the history of the 
Church. Thus, in the days of the apostles, when 



CHURCH ACTION. 12$ 

individuals were moved by the Holy Ghost to min- 
ister in sacred things, to the Church was allotted the 
recognition and authentication of the divine call. This 
idea underlies the whole theory and practice of ordi- 
nation. But long before public ordination is in place, 
the Church has an important function to perform in 
enabling the inquirer to know his duty. As in the 
call of the sinner to repentance, both " the Spirit and 
the bride say, Come ;" so, with a remarkable uniform- 
ity, when the Holy Spirit moves upon the heart of a 
young man to take upon himself the work of the min- 
istry, the Church is similarly moved to call him to the 
same work. It is not necessary at first that the im- 
pression should be general, or the action formal, but 
if within the Church there are any true 

•' Various modes 

disciples praying the Lord of the harvest of cimrch ac- 
to send forth laborers into his harvest, and 
their minds are directed toward an individual who is 
privately exercised in reference to the same subject, 
the coincidence can not fail to be impressive. Es- 
pecially is it so when such disciples are moved to 
communicate their impressions encouragingly to the 
persons already meditating this very duty. Nor is 
the case altered when members of the Church, on the 
basis of their own convictions, become instrumental 
in first arousing the attention of a young man to 
inquire what the Lord would have him do. When- 
ever, or however, a coincidence is established between 
the personal convictions of an inquirer and the re- 
ligious convictions of devout representatives of the 
Church, it becomes an element of great importance in 
defining one's course of duty. On the other hand, 



126 THE CHURCH MAY ERR. 

if an individuars inquiries into this subject are not 
in due time encouraged by the favorable impressions 
of the Church, he may well pause before resolving to 
go a warfare at his own charges, or on the strength 
of his own uncorroborated convictions. Yet it de- 
serves to be stated, that there are circumstances in 
which the non-action, or even the negative action, of 
the Church would not be conclusive against the fact 
of a divine call to the ministry When a Church is 
inactive or lukewarm, or when it has little sympathy 
with efforts to extend the kingdom of Christ in the 
earth, it is like a dumb oracle, through which the 
Spirit of truth can not be expected to speak. While, 
therefore, non-co-operation from a dormant or apostate 
Church should be no dissuasive from duty, encourage- 
ment from a living, praying, and believing Church, or 
its faithful members, may become strongly corrobora- 
tive of the impressions received from one's communion 
with God, and confirmed by the action of his best un- 
biased judgment. 

The reader will now be prepared to understand 
Distinction be- thc propcr distiuctlon between the internal 
Sand the ^ud cxtcmal Call to the ministry. The 
external call. formcr is the diviuc impulse, communi- 
cated directly by the Spirit, and confirmed by the 
providence of God. The latter is the voice of the 
Church. There ought always to be unity and corre- 
spondence between the two, and when there is, there 
can scarcely be room for doubt as to the joint testi- 
mony. But, inasmuch as it is possible for the Church 
to be mistaken, or for the will of God to be misin- 
terpreted, conclusions should be formed with devout 



SPIRITUAL APOSTASY. 12/ 

reverence, and with a thorough loyalty to supreme 
authority. No one can be a legitimate embassador 
of Christ who is not called and commissioned by 
Christ tlfe Sovereign, and yet the true embassador 
may need credentials of authentication from the Sov- 
ereign's representative, which is the Church. There 
may be a true call without the desired authentication, 
and there may be the form of authentication without 
the divine call. The latter has been and still is the 
error of Churches deficient in spirituality. Apostate 
Having the form of godliness, but deny- 'S'S^Jt 
ing the power thereof — 2 Tim. iii, 5 — they t^^°^'ty- 
exaggerate the importance of ceremonies, but ignore 
the power of the Spirit's influence. They pride them- 
selves upon an imagined lineal and tactual succes- 
sion from the apostles, although deplorably deficient 
in apostolic humility, and giving but poor manifes- 
tations of either the mind or the spirit of Christ. 
As a stream can not rise higher than its fountain, 
so ecclesiastical appointments from a Church of this 
character, however vaunted, can have no more validity 
than mere designations to office in any civil society. 
There may, however, be cases of the divine vocation 
in corrupt and apostate Churches. Thus God raised 
up prophets among the Jews, and has from time to 
time raised up reformers in the Christian Church. 
But, assuming that any Christian Church or branch 
of the Church appropriately holds the Head from 
which all the body, having nourishment, increaseth 
with the increase of God,* that Church may expect, 
through fervent prayer and lively sympathy with the 

*Col. ii, 19. 



128 CONCURRENT EVIDENCES. 

designs of the gospel, to be often honored as an 
agency of calling and appointing true ministers of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, in harmony with the higher 
call of "the Holy Spirit. Encouragement ordina- 
tion, and appointment from such a Church are to be 
highly prized, and the absence of encouragement of 
this character should be an occasion of close scrutiny 
of one's personal impressions and a patient waiting 
for the clearest light before incurring the risk of run- 
ning without being sent. 

5. A harnionioits concun'ence of legitimate reasons. 
As there is absolute unity in truth, however varied 
the modes of its manifestation, so God's will in refer- 
ence to a Christian's duty may be expected to appear 
the same, from whatever aspect it is viewed. Noth- 
ing less, therefore, than a concurrence of all good 
reasons why one should devote himself to the minis- 
try of the gospel should be expected in every true 
experience of the divine call. But, as temperaments 
and circumstances differ, no absolute uniformity in 
the order or intensity of personal experience can be 
supposed necessary or desirable. Some might, in- 
deed, wish the divine call to be so clear and demon- 
strative as to leave no room for the investigation of 
direct and indirect proofs. But it is sufficient for us 
to know that such is rarely if ever the divine method. 

" It might be highly convenient to possess some miraculous 
token by which we might at any thne decide infallibly upon our 
spiritual state. Yet it has pleased God to enjoin frequent and 
laborious self-examination, and to institute a multitude of tests, 
by all of which we must try our character and measure our 
attainments. In the same manner the Scriptures enumerate the 
gifts and graces which are indispensable in a preacher, and they 



PROPER TESTS. 



129 



leave us to try the pretensions of all who aspire to the sacred 
office by this infalhble standard. The Church must ultimately 
decide upon the qualifications of those who seek its authority 
to preach the gosjDcl, but an individual may often anticipate 
its judgment by applying its established tests to his own qual- 
ifications. The Church inquires with regard to candidates, 
' Have they gifts ? Have they, in some tolerable degree, a 
clear, sound understanding, a right judgment in the things of 
God? Has God given them any degree of utterance? Do 
they speak justl}^, readily, clearly ?' Some of these questions 
may be settled without any appeal to the Church, and the want 
of some of the enumerated quahfications is sufficient proof of 
unfitness for the ministry, and consequently of a mistake with 
regard to a call. A man who thinks it his duty to preach may, 
for instance, readily ascertain that he has an insuperable obsta- 
cle to distinct, intelligible articulation, or that his intellect is so 
weak and confused that he can neither explain nor understand 
the fundamental doctrines of religion ; for him no further evi- 
dence is necessary that he has mistaken his calling." * 

By such tests, therefore, should the inquirer in refer- 
ence to ministerial duty try himself impartially. Nor 
should he confine himself merely to theoretic consid- 
erations. Our blessed Lord has prescribed fruits as 
a test both of experience and character. Hence it is 
well both for individuals and Churches to experiment 
upon impressions of duty in advance of final conclu- 
sions. In the different phases of Christian activity 
there are numerous ways in which an earnest young- 
man may, without forwardness, put forth efforts suf- 
ficiently analogous to those required by ministerial 
duty to enable him to form an unbiased judgment as 
to whether his exertions are owned of God. While, 
therefore, he may be on the alert for opportunities to 
do good, the Church will do well to employ him in 
some of those minor offices in which she may, on 

* Olin. 



130 INITIAL FRUITFULNESS. 

her part, ascertain his Christian fruitfulness. If in 
this progressive course of experiment good is done, 
souls are blessed, and God is honored, reasons will 
be seen not only to concur, but to multiply for a life- 
long devotion to the work of the ministry. 

When by definite and combined considerations, 
tested in the light of Scripture and experience, a 
Christian young man reaches the conviction that 
God calls him to the sacred office, he should no 
longer hesitate. He should respond to the call by a 
cheerful surrender of his own will to the will divine, 
and should, as far as possible, set himself apart for 
holy emplo3^ments. 

"He is no longer his own. It was before impiety, it is now 
sacrilege, for him to hve to himself. He is dead to the world. 
He has a high vocation, from which his whole future life must 
take its coloring and direction. He is consecrated to God. 
Sacred vows are upon him, and from this hour all his faculties 
of body and mind are irrevocably pledged to the Savior's cause. 
Years, perhaps, must elapse before his age, intellectual maturit}-, 
and religious experience will allow the Church to commission 
him to preach ; but this, instead of being a ground for distrust- 
ing the divine call, and for sinking into sloth and despondency, 
or for becoming entangled in secular employments, should be 
esteemed a high and peculiar blessing." 

During all the years of his preparation, his convic- 1 
tions may become stronger and clearer, and when at 
length he reaches positions in which he can make full 
proof of his ministry, he may, by proper diligence 
and devotion, expect evidences of his being in the 
way of duty to multiply until demonstration shall be 
made doubly clear. Souls converted by his agency 
will become seals of his apostleship on earth, as they 



MULTIPLYING MOTIVES. I3I 

will be crowns of his rejoicing in the world to come.* 
While such possibilities are open before the truly 
called minister of Christ, none should be disheart- 
ened who, at the end of candid and diligent inquiry, 
fail to receive conclusive evidences of a personal call 
to the sacred office. Happily, there are numerous 
spheres of Christian usefulness outside of the public 
ministry, in which similar objects can be accomplished, 
and similar rewards gained. The great desire of every 
Christian should be to find his true place in the serv- 
ice of his divine Master, and then to perform his 
whole duty, to the utmost of his ability. 

* I Cor. ix, 2; I Thess. ii, 19. 



132 PRE A CHING AND THE PASTOR A TE. 



CHAPTER IVr 

CLASSIFICATION OF MINISTERIAL DUTIES,— THE TWO 
GREAT FUNCTIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINIS- 
TRY—EVANGELICAL—PASTORAL. 

A CALLING so important and comprehensive in 
its design as tliat now under consideration nec- 
essarily involves a. vast number and a great variety 
of duties. Nevertheless, preaching and the pastoral 
care generically embrace them all. Attention should 
therefore be given to the distinctive character, the spe- 
cific design, and the proper relations and correspond- 
ences of these two leading functions of the Christian 
ministry. 

Preaching and the pastoral care have a common 
object, but employ somewhat different, though never 
antagonistic, means for its accomplishment. Preach- 
ing is the initial work. It awakens attention, arouses 
conscience, proclaims the terrors of the law, offers the 
mercy of salvation, and persuades men to be recon- 
ciled to God. Pastoral care feeds the flock of Christ, 
nourishes and cherishes the lambs of his fold, gives 
milk to babes, and strong meat to them that are of 
full age. Preaching introduces the gospel. Pastoral 
care establishes and perpetuates the institutions of 
Christianity. Preaching enlarges the area of Chris- 
tian influence. Pastoral care individualizes the appli- 



COMPARISON OF DUTIES. T33 

cation and consolidates the results of pulpit labor. 
Pastoral care increases attendance upon preaching, 
and secures interested hearers. Preaching attracts 
hearers within the circle of pastoral influence, and 
pastoral care waters the seed sown in their hearts. 

.Preaching is aggressive. It is the pioneer work 
of the Church. Pastoral care follows as the work 
of occupation. Preaching challenges attention and 
awakens inquiry. Pastoral care removes doubts, set- 
tles anxieties, and imparts consolation and instruction. 
Preaching attacks error in its various forms, and un- 
folds and defends the truth of God. Pastoral care 
folds, watches, and guards the gathered flock. Preach- 
ing not followed, or not duly sustained by correspond- 
pastoral care, fails of its ultimate objects. ^"^^^■ 
Pastoral care, without preaching, is insufficient to ac- 
complish the designs of a Christian Church. Churches, 
in which preaching is neglected, decline both in num- 
bers and spirituality. Those in which preaching is de- 
preciated, or becomes powerless, verge over into ritu- 
alistic ceremonies and profitless formalities. Churches, 
in which pastoral care is neglected, lose their organic 
power, and tend to dissolution. Preaching and the 
pastoral care are, in fact, so closely correlated, and so 
reciprocal to each other, that they should always be 
maintained in unison, and in mutual co-operation. 
Yet there are some particulars in which the admin- 
istration of the two functions widely differ. 

Preaching, in some important senses, is a universal 
duty, whereas the pastoral care is com- 

. - A n i-^ 1) Bifierences. 

mitted to comparatively few. All God s 

people may be prophets, to the extent that they may, 



134 DISTINCTIONS AND LIMITATIONS. 

by their lives, their example, and their influence, 
preach Christ, and make known the knowledge of his 
name, and the power of his grace, thus multiplying 
Christian activities at every point of contact between 
the Church and the world. Pastoral duties can not 
be thus subdivided and rriade diffusive. They are 
limited in extent of territory, and for completeness 
and efficiency they must necessarily focalize in an 
individual pastor, however he may be aided by assist- 
ant pastors or lay helpers. Not merely is a pastor to 
take the spiritual oversight of his flock, but also to 
stimulate and guide the individual efforts of its mem- 
bers. Into this responsibility a stranger can not en- 
ter, however good or great as a preacher. The spirit 
of true Christianity always demands illustration, by 
private as well as public labor, for the propagation of 
the faith and the salvation of men. It is therefore 
important that such labor be under wise direction, 
and not wasted through circumscribed views or im- 
pulses, lacking a worthy and specific aim. As well 
might there be many heads to an army as many pas- 
tors for a single flock. The apostle James rebuked 
this error when he said, " My brethren, be not many 
masters." Rather should the energies of an entire 
flock be guided by the wisdom and zeal of a single 
responsible head. In this view, Christian churches 
should not be too large, so that individual talent will 
be in danger of being overlooked or unemployed. 
When, however, by internal growth or centripetal at- 
traction, a pastorate becomes too large for efficient 
superintendence or practical work, preaching, as a 
centrifugal force, should come to its relief by going 



THE ORDINANCES. 1 35 

forth with colonies to plant new centers of Church 
action. While in all these respects the wise pastor 
will encourage and guide the efforts of his people, he 
will not forget that he, too, is a preacher, and that, in 
order to make full proof of his ministry, he must per- 
sonally " Preach the word ; be instant in season, out 
of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffer- 
ing and doctrine."* 

The administration of the ordinances, whether of 
baptism or of the Lord's-supper, is peculiarly a pas- 
toral function, and its right discharge involves no 
little solicitude and personal attention to their sub- 
jects. The ordinances of Christianity are not to be 
administered heedlessly, or by mere routine, but rather 
with a just discrimination as to their design and sig- 
nificance. Nor is the minister to act merely as a 
judge in discriminating character, but also as an in- 
structor to the ignorant, a helper to the weak, a guide 
to the erring, and as an appointed agent, by appropri- 
ate means, to turn men from the service of Satan to 
the obedience 'of the truth and the service of God. 
The exercise of the preaching office is a primary re- 
quirement of the divine call. Whoever th. two func- 
has received that call should preach- wher- tions separable. 
ever hearers can be found, and whether invested with 
the pastoral office or not. Faithful preaching will 
usually, if not invariably, create the necessity of the 
pastoral care, but that care will not necessarily de- 
volve on the original preacher. Many useful preach- 
ers, in fact, never accept the pastoral oversight of a 
flock. Some feel themselves unadapted to it. Others 

* 2 Tim. iv, 2. 



136 EVANGELISTS AND PASTORS. 

are prevented from engaging in it by the demands of 
the Church in other departments of labor. Some, 
from constitutional or cultivated preferences, choose 
to labor wholly as evangelists, while other good men 
may not be chosen or accepted as pastors by the 
people. The last remark develops a distinctive pecul- 
iarity of the pastoral ofQce. It can not exist, in any 
proper sense, without the consent of those who are 
embraced within its jurisdiction. There are, indeed, 
various ways in which the pastoral relation may be 
established ; as, for example, by a formal compact be- 
tween Churches and ministers, or by the routine of a 
system accepted by both. In other instances, the 
pastoral relation may be imposed by government 
authority or private patronage, and may have a legal 
and ceremonial existence, even contrary to the wishes 
of the people ; but in no case can it be fully exempli- 
fied without the personal and cordial consent of its 
Limitation of propcr subjccts. Thc pastoral relation, as 
the pastorate, bctwecu a minister and his people, being 
practically a matter of agreement, is capable of dis- 
solution by either party. Owing to this fact, good 
ministers are sometimes dismissed or excluded from 
pastorates through misapprehension or the untoward- 
ness of circumstances. In such cases, their pastoral 
functions may be involuntarily suspended for a longer 
or a shorter time, but not necessarily their duty of 
preaching. They may go forth and seek other fields, 
found other Churches, and again resume pastoral rela- 
tions under more favorable auspices. But if from any 
cause the pastoral relation should not be resumed, the 
preaching office, so far from being abandoned, may 



PREACHING A LIFE- LONG DUTY. 1 3; 

Still be maintained, and great usefulness result from 
even its occasional exercise. Indeed, that branch of 
ministerial duty, bavins: a wide sphere of 

•1 '=' J- Preaching of 

exercise, outside of calls, settlements, or constant obii- 
official appointments, should be considered 
of Hfe-long obligation. It should neither be resigned 
nor disused. It should be regarded as a talent be- 
stowed by the great Head of the Church ; and having 
been ratified or duly recognized by the Church itself, 
in its general capacity, the receiver has no right either 
to hide it in a napkin or bury it in the earth. On the 
other hand, he should regard this ministerial gift or 
charism as a light kindled up in his soul, which is 
" neither to be put under a bushel nor a bed, but to 
be set on a candlestick, that it may give light to all 
that are around." Our Lord said to his disciples, 
" When they persecute you in this city, flee ye to 
another."* This instruction may be justly interpreted 
as a general direction to ministers, that if insurmount- 
able difficulties arise in one field or form of labor, they 
are not to succumb to obstacles, but to seek other 
fields, and toil on in the Master's vineyard while life 
and strength endure. It is to be feared that loose 
views are too prevalent on this subject, and that many 
preachers, truly called of God, either through discour- 
agements or enticements, prematurely discontinue a 
most important sacred function, which they should 

«. " Only with their lives lay down." 

As desertion is a military crime of the highest 
magnitude, so an abandonment of the ministerial 

* Matt. X, 23. 
12 



138 THE TWO FUNCTIONS SEPARABLE. 

vocation without the clearest indication of the divine 
will should be regarded as a capital error, if not a 
crime against Him by whom the minister was called 
with a holy calling, from the just claims of which 
nothing less than the authority of the captain of his 
salvation can absolve him. 

While it may be conceded that full proof of the 
Atrueminist uiinistry can only be made in the joint 
may be main- excrcisc of the two functlous of preaching 

tained by the 

use of either and the pastoral care, it is not conceded 
that the disuse, for sufficient reasons, of 
either one of these functions necessarily invalidates 
the essential character of a true ministry. Indeed, it 
will often occur in the practical work of disseminating 
the gospel and establishing the Church that one of 
these duties is in the ascendant, while the other is 
suspended for a longer or shorter period. The neces- 
sity for their combined or parallel discharge does not 
always exist. In every country, and, it may be said, 
in every community where the gospel is introduced, 
there is a period of missionary effort in which preach- 
ing is the principal, if not the sole duty of Chris- 
tian ministers. Attention must be aroused, interest j 
awakened, consciences quickened, and souls converted 
before the work of a pastor can properly be inaugu- j 
rated. But, following such results, pastoral effort 
rises to supreme importance as a means of gathering 
in the fruits of the gospel harvest. Thenceforward, 
during the whole existence of the Church established, 
both duties may run parallel and be strictly essential 
to each other. 

The ultimate rather than the primary order of pas- 



INSTITUTION OF PASTORATE. 1 39 

toral labor in the Church is indicated by the New 
Testament record. The whole period of our Lord's 
earthly ministrations was that of preparatory and 
missionary effort, and the pastoral office was not def- 
initely established till near its close, while that of 
preaching was appointed at its beginning. It was 
during the last six months of Christ's 

_ ^ ^ Appointment 

public ministry that the Savior distinctly of the pastoral 
illustrated to his disciples, then somewhat 
prepared to understand it, his own character as the 
good SHEPHERD who was to lay down his life for the 
sheep.* At that period and in that manner he iden- 
tified himself with the ancient prophecies which had 
declared that the Messiah should "feed his flock like 
a shepherd," "gather the lambs with his arm and 
carry them in his bosom," "seek out his sheep and 
deliver them," "seek that which was lost," "bind up 
that which was broken,'.' "strengthen that which was 
sick," "feed them with judgment," and "be their 
shepherd."! It was not till the night before his 
betrayal that the Savior instituted the institution of 
Holy Eucharist and ' commanded its per- ^^^ ordinances, 
petuation in the Church, and not till after his resur- 
rection that he gave to his disciples, through Peter, 
the urgent and comprehensive command, "feed my 
lambs," "feed my sheep," commands speedily and 
significantly followed by the great commission, "Go 
TEACH all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost." 

When our Lord sent forth his disciples on a mis- 
sion of evangelization he sent them two by two, 

*John X. t Isaiah xl, ii ; Ezck. xxxiv, 12, 23. 



140 DIVISION OF MINISTERIAL LABOR. 

thus indicating that in the early stages of evangel- 
ical labor a plurality of preachers is needed. In like 
manner the apostles, in their more important mis- 
sionary tours, went not singly, but accompanied by 
one or more assistants. Thus Peter and John were 
associated together, also Paul and Barnabas ; and 
when the latter two separated at Antioch, Barnabas 
took Mark and sailed into Cyprus, and Paul chose 
Silas and went through Syria and Cilicia confirm- 
ing the Churches. Modern efforts for the propaga- 
tion of Christianity, whether in pagan nations or 
in nations nominally Christian, illustrate a similar 
necessity for a preponderance of evangelical rather 
than pastoral labor up to the time when Churches 
become established. After that, a single pastor can 
take the oversight of a flock that has only been 
gathered by multiplied labors, in which preaching 
predominated. Thus, in the progress of time and in 
Occasions for thc development of Christian institutions, 
ormii^'stoSi ministerial labor becomes legitimately sub- 
labor. divided. This principle was recognized by 

the apostles in their demand for the appointment of 
deacons to relieve them of a part of their previously 
accepted duties, also in their subsequent ordination 
of elders for the confirmation of believers and the 
administration of the sacrament. So in modern times 
by the progress of Christianity and the multiplication 
of Christian agencies new departments of labor are 
created. Thus the wide extension and convenient 
maintenance of Christian missions requires more or 
less persons to devote their time and energies spe- 
cially to the collection and disbursement of funds 



DUTIES IN HARMONY WITH THE MINISTRY, 141 

and the direction of missionary affairs. The estab- 
lishment and conduct of educational institutions in 
the interests of the Church devolves upon some 
ministers the duty of arousing the liberality of Chris- 
tians to found such institutions, and upon others that 
of imparting or superintending instruction. In like 
manner the proper enlistment of the press in the 
service of Christianity makes' it necessary for some 
ministers to become translators of the Scriptures, 
editors of periodicals, and authors of books, to an 
extent incompatible with a pastoral charge. But 
should such persons therefore renounce the ministry 
of the gospel .^ Evidently not. Their work may be 
exceptional in form, but none the less real in purpose 
or result. Unless it has the latter character it should 
never be undertaken, or, if undertaken and found to 
disappoint expectations, it should be resigned, since 
no one conscious of being called of God to the min- 
istry and having taken upon himself solemn vows of 
ordination should consider himself at liberty to accept 
any engagement that will inhibit his exercise of the 
gospel ministry at least as a faithful preacher of the 
word. Whatever, in any subordinate or auxiliary 
vocation, he may do on week-days, he should devote 
his Sabbaths, as extensively as possible, (.^^.^ sabbath 
to preaching the word," either as an aid ^^ords special 

and ever-recur- 

to laborious pastors, or in gathering new 



ring occasions 



congregations. If no field for such labors '"^ ^"^^^ ""'^" 
seems to lie open before him he should seek to open 
one, which will rarely be found impossible. Effort 
may often be necessary to find congenial and practi- 
cable fields of usefulness, but it is not to be believed 



142 RITUALISTIC THEORY, 

that God ever calls redundant laborers into his moral 
vineyard. There is room for all to work, and need 
for the utmost diligence of all. How culpable, then, 
the inactivity or love of ease by which many stand 
in each other's way, or bury in the ground the most 
valuable talent they possess ! How wrong, too, any 
system of Church administration which, for the pomp 
of ceremony or Church parade, monopolizes a retinue 
of ecclesiastics who, scattered abroad, might individu- 
ally preach the gospel to the poor ! 

Although it is not the object of this volume to set 
forth in detail the magnitude and responsibility of the 
preaching office, but rather that of the pastoral care, 
yet even in this connection justice to the scriptural 
idea demands that preaching should be set in its true 
and ever-important light. It is in no case to be ig- 
nored or subordinated. Hence no countenance should 
be given to erroneous theories as to its place in the 
Christian system. 

Of such theories one is that in which the adminis- 
Erroneous the- tratiou of the sacramcuts is held to be the 
ones. great and central function of the Christian 

ministry, to which preaching is merely an auxiliary, or 
perhaps a fitting pendent as a postil to a mass. This 
theory underlies the practice of the Roman Catholic 
Church, and, in fact, of ritualists of all grades. An- 
other, which is but a modification of the former, has 
been adopted by some Protestant writers who, by the 
error of regarding the pastoral office as the equiva- 
lent of the whole Christian ministry, practically make 
preaching merely a branch of pastoral duty. This 
theory tends to displace preaching from its true place 



TRUE THEORY. 1 43 

in the Christian scheme, without really enhancing 
the dignity or responsibility of the pastoral office. 
Distinct from both these theories, the true view, as 
already indicated, is that preaching and the pas- 
toral care are co-ordinate functions of one and the 
same ministry. Each is correspondent to the other, 
whether both are united in the ministry of one indi- 
vidual, or whether the two are separated and more 
or less distributed in the aggregate ministry of the 
Church. 

Let preaching, then, be ever understood to have 
a his^h and intrinsic importance, whether 

^ ^ True theory of 

regarded by itself or in its relations to the preaching 
the pastoral office. Various considerations 
confirm this view of preaching as that which should 
be exemplified by all true ministers of Christ. The 
following are suggested: 

I. Its tmiversal adaptation. Preaching contemplates 
equally the cardinal objects of the Christian ministry 
and the moral wants of humanity. As the Savior of 
the world was pleased to reveal himself in the char- 
acter of the incarnate Word, so the word of his grace 
is designed and appointed for a world-wide proclama- 
tion. Human speech, by Christ's appointment, was 
made the grand agency of propagating divine truth 
for the universal conquest of human hearts. Hence, 
in every nation and in all circumstances, able minis- 
ters of the New Testament are wanted to proclaim 
the unsearchable riches of Christ, by diligent spir- 
itual ministrations and manifestations of the truth 
commending themselves to every man's conscience 
in the sight of God. 



144 PERPETUAL OBLIGATION. 

2 . The moral and perpetual obligation of the preaching 
office. Preaching is no respecter of persons. It has a 
message alike for the high and the low, the rich and 
the poor, the learned and the unlearned, the good and 
the bad. Nevertheless, its utterances should be dis- 
criminating. It should have a timely word for every 
individual, and the preacher should be so thoroughly 
prepared and so self-possessed as not to be abashed at 
the presence of any man in his audience. Dealing 
specially with the consciences of men, and aiming su- 
premely at the salvation of their souls, the preacher 
should never cease to regard himself as an embas- 
sador for Christ, sent forth to entreat men to be recon- 
ciled to God. Nevertheless, knowing his openness to 
criticism, and the possibility of his message being dis- 
armed of its power by feeble conceptions of truth, or 
its unskillful utterance, he should omit no means of 
qualification, and no urgency of prayer for the assist- 
ance of divine grace, that he may be enabled " rightly 
to divide the word of truth." 

The discharge of this branch of ministerial duty is 
True evangel- ^ot Conditioned on the accident of a call 
ism aggressive. fj-Qj^ somc Organized Church or congre- 
gation. If God calls, his ministers should preach, 
whether "men will hear, or whether they will for- 
bear." Hearers are more easily found than pastor- 
ates, and yet earnest preaching is the most effectual 
means of establishing pastorates where they have had 
no previous existence. It is an apostolic ambition, 
upon which God puts especial honor, to preach the 
gospel " in regions beyond," or outside of Christian 
occupation, "not boasting in another man's line of 



QUALIFICATIONS TO BE SOUGHT. 1 45 

things made ready to our hand."* Hence, every 
Christian minister, young or old, who is not occupied 
in a pastorate, without standing idle, and lamenting 
"no man hath hired me," should go forth and seek 
some field in which he may sow the seed 

Fields of labor 

of the kingdom — some neglected neighbor- should be 
hood, some abandoned community, some ^°"^'^' 
frontier settlement, some prison, some almshouse, 
some hospital, in which he may point perishing souls 
to " the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of 
the world." If in such fields of labor it is impossible 
for him to live of the gospel which he preaches, if he 
is compelled during the week to minister to his own 
necessities and those of persons dependent upon him 
by secular or other occupations, still he has the Lord's 
day in which to work for God. Every Christian Sab- 
bath brings to him, as well as to a pastor, an ap- 
pointed time for preaching. His responsibility is to 
find the place and discharge the duty to as many as 
will hear him. Here, it should be remembered, that 
the most laborious duties of the pastoral 

Pastoral work 

office have to be performed on week-days, belongs chiefly 
and that preparation for the pulpit must be 
made in portions of time that can be redeemed for 
that object. Here is the crucial test of personal dili- 
gence — to do the one work well, and not to leave the 
other undone. If, moreover, the same diligence in 
redeeming moments for religious studies and medita- 
tions be maintained by those whose week-days are 
necessarily occupied with miscellaneous or secular du- 
ties, their profiting in increasing qualifications for the 

* 2 Cor, X, 16. 

13 



146 THE FIELD IS THE WORLD. 

preaching office might also appear unto all men. 
When, therefore, a minister finds his lot temporarily 
or permanently cast outside of a pastorate, while he 
may not rejoice at his immunity from, the interrup- 
tions and multitudinous cares inseparable from the 
faithful discharge of pastoral obligations, he should 
earnestly endeavor to profit by that immunity, using 
all diligence, in all spare moments, to secure, by all 
available means, a higher fitness both for present and 
for future usefulness. Thus, whether in youth, middle 
life, or old age, the truly called minister of Jesus 
Christ, in whatever circumstances he may be provi- 
dentially placed, should count it his honor, his joy, 
and his perpetual obligation to preach the gospel to 
the extent of his opportunity and ability. In this 
manner, many faithful and truly apostolic men, who 
have never been pastors, have been efficient evangel- 
ists, and have maintained themselves while freely dis- 
pensing the gospel to others, and greatly aiding in the 
extension of the truth and in the multiplication and 
strengthening of Christian Churches. 

That system of pastoral division of territory and 
The word of of exclusivc jurisdictiou, by which only an 
Godnotbound. official pastor is permitted to preach within 
certain boundaries, has no countenance from Christ's 
precepts, from apostolic example, or from the reason 
of things. While a just respect should be maintained 
for the Christian pre-occupation of any field, and while 
proselytism should be despised and avoided, yet an 
earnest preacher should consider himself commis- 
sioned to imitate his divine Master in seeking to 
save them that are lost or perishing in sin, wherever 



ORDINA TION, 1 47 

they may be found. Thus, he should aim to illus- 
trate the spirit of the great commission which directs 
ministers to go " into all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature." The spirit of this com- 
mand is missionary and diffusive, in the highest de- 
gree, and it can only be exemplified by self-denial 
and cross-bearing, both on the part of ministers and 
Churches. Considering the universal applicability, 
and the perpetual force of this command, ordbations 
we may infer it to be the divine will that should not be 

confined to pas- 

the number of preadiers in the Church torai incum- 
should exceed that of pastors. It is, there- 
fore, neither scriptural nor evangelical for Churches 
to withhold ordination from all who are not previ- 
ously chosen or appointed to a pastorate. Rather 
it should be regarded as the true policy and the just 
responsibility of Churches to commission all who are 
truly called of God to preach the gospel, while all who 
are thus called and commissioned should regard the 
sacred office as of life-long obligation, and not to be 
laid aside or disused at convenience. If indeed called 
to be soldiers of Jesus Christ, they should remember 
that " there is no discharge in that war," and also that 
"no man that warreth entangleth himself with the 
affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath 
chosen him to be a soldier." 

The Church of England, amid many canons, of lit- 
tle scriptural validity, has this one, the 76th, which is 
conceived and expressed in accordance with the true 
spirit of ministerial obligation : 

" Ministers at no time to forsake their calling. No man being 
admitted a deacon or minister shall from thenceforth voluntarily 



148 SIGNIFICANCE OF ORDINATION. 

relinquish the same, nor afterward use himself in the course of 
his life as a layman, upon pain of excommunication." 

The proper theory of lay ministration will be con- 
sidered in another connection. At this point it is 
sufficient to have shown that the preaching office is 
not only separable from that of the pastorate, but of 
constant obligation during the life, health, and relig- 
ious fidelity of its subject ; and that by the faithful 
discharge of this one branch of ministerial duty, if 
the other is not allotted to him, a Christian minister 
may maintain a good conscience, and fulfill the essen- 
tial requirement of the divine call. 

It remains to be noticed that ministerial ordination 

has reference to preaching as well as to the 

contanpiates administration of the sacraments. Christ 

preaching as himsclf " ordaiucd twelve, that they should 

well as pastoral -' 

care and min- bc witli him, aud that he might send them 



istration. 



forth to preach."* Matthias was " ordained 
to be a witness " with the apostles " of the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus. "t Paul declares himself to have been 
" ordained a preacher and an apostle, a teacher of the 
Gentiles, if in faith and verity." Having reference to 
the special character of his mission to the Gentiles, 
although recognizing his power to administer the ordi- 
nances, the same apostle affirmed to the Corinthians, 
that " Christ sent him not to baptize, but to preach 
the gospel." Immediately after the ordination of 
the seven deacons we have a record of the effective 
preaching of Stephen, and subsequently of the faith- 
ful labors of Philip as an Evangelist. 

The practice of ordination to the Christian ministry 

* Mark iii, 14. t Acts i, 22. \ i Tim. ii, 7. 



COMPULSION. 



149 



has been retained in the Church from a2:e to asfe. 
But unhappily, respecting this as in reference to many 
other subjects, erroneous theories crept Early corrup- 
into the ancient Church, and led. to gross ^'°"^- 
corruptions in practice. Of these it is sufficient to 
instance that of forced ordinations. 

"Anciently," says Bingham,* "while popular elections were 
indulged, there was nothing more common than for people to 
take men by force, and have them ordained against their wills. 
For though many men were too ambitious in courting the pre- 
ferments of the Church, yet there were some who ran as eagerly 
from them as others ran to them ; and nothing but force could 
bring such men to submit to an ordination. Ecclesiastical his- 
tory furnishes many instances of this, includino^ 
some who were plainly ordained against their wills. ■^°J"'^^^ ^^'^^' 

^ -' ^ nation. 

It was a common practice in those times for per- 
sons, that fled to avoid ordination by their own bishop, to be 
seized by any other bishop to be ordained by them, and then 
returned to the bishop from whom they were fled." " Nor was 
it any kind of remonstrance or solicitation whatsoever which the 
party could make that would prevent his ordination in such 
cases, except he chanced to protest solemnly upon oath against 
such ordination." To hinder this protest, cunning and violence 
were employed. At the ordination of Macedonius by Flavian, 
Bishop of Antioch, "they durst not let him know what they 
were about till the ceremony was over ; and, when he came to 
understand that he was ordained presbyter, he broke forth into 
a rage." Paulinianus, Jerome's brother, fled from ordination, 
but Epiphanius caused his deacons to seize him, and to hold his 
mouth, that he might not adjure them in the name of Christ to 
set liim free. "Such ordination stood good, and was accounted 
as valid as any other." 

Even when in the following age the sentiment of the Church 
was so far modified as to permit deacons and presbyters, ordained 
against their wills, to " be set at liberty as if they had never been 
ordained," bishops were excluded from this reasonable provis- 
ion. "Though the imperial law gave liberty to all inferiors, so 

* Antiquities of the Christian Church, Look IV, chap. vii. 



ISO 



THEORY OF TACTUAL SUCCESSION. 



ordained, to relinquish their office that was forced upon them, 
if they pleased, and betake themselves to a secular life again, 
yet it peremptorily denied the privilege to bishops, decreeing 
that their ordination should stand good, and that no action 
brought against their ordainers should be of force to evacuate 
or disannul their consecration." 

Thus the "indelible mark" would stand, however 
unwilling or immoral the man that had received it. 
It is easy to perceive that such abuses had their root 
in the materialistic idea of the descent of ministerial 
grace and authority through tactual succession. Yet 
the tolerated existence of such abuses in connection 
with the origin and diffusion of the lineal succes- 
sion theory has added historic demonstration to the 
glaring absurdity of the theory itself . However at 
variance with all spiritual conceptions of Christian- 
ity, that theory has proved itself adapted to spread 
throughout periods of declining and extinct spirit- 
uality, and unhappily it still prevails as the basis 
of much error in portions of nominal Christendom. 
While the evils that have grown directly out of it 
are numerous, it seems also chargeable with that 
extreme reaction by which some have rejected not 
only the rite of ordination, but also the sacraments 
themselves, and even the ministerial office. 

Excepting those who receive the opposite and erro- 
neous theories alluded to, great practical unity of 
sentiment prevails in modern Churches respecting 
the character and significance of ministerial ordina- 
tion. The minor variations recognized among the 
principal Protestant Churches do not materially con- 
flict with the following points, in which, on the basis 
of scriptural precedent, they all concur: 



CORRECT THEORY OF ORDINATION. 151 

1. Ministerial ordination is a solemn and respon- 
sible act of the Christian Church, designed for the 
safeguard and perpetuation of its ministerial functions. 

2. It is conditioned upon evidence of the precedent 
call of the Holy Spirit received by its individual 
subject. 

3. It recognizes and sanctions the two great and 
co-ordinate functions of the ministerial office, viz. : 
(i.) The duty of preaching. (2.) The pastoral care, 
inclusive of the administration of the sacraments. 

A few extracts from our Church ritual will show 
how definitely the two functions treated of in this 
chapter are contemplated in the forms of ministerial 
ordination : 

PROFESSION AND VOWS OF THOSE AVHO ARE ADMITTED TO 
THE ORDER OF DEACON. 

Ques. " Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the 
Holy Ghost to take upon you the office of the ministry in the 
Church of Christ, to serve God for the promoting of his glory 
and the edifying of his people .'*" 

Alls. "I trust so." 

Ques. " Do you unfeignedly believe all the canonical Script- 
ures of the Old and New Testament ?" 

Alls. " I do believe them." 

Ques. " Will you diligently read or expound the same unto 
the people whom you shall be appointed to serve ?" 

Ans. "I will." 

" It appertaineth to the office of a deacon to assist the elder 
in divine service, and, especially, when he ministereth the holy 
communion, to help him in the distribution thereof, and to read 
and expound the Holy Scriptures, to instruct the youth, and 
to baptize ; and, furthermore, it is his office to search for the 
sick, poor, and impotent, that they may be visited and relieved. 
Ques. Will you do this gladly and willingly?" 

Ans. " I will do so by the help of God." 



152 SOLEMN VOWS, 

EPISCOPAL CHARGE. 

"Take thou authority to execute the office of a deacon in 
the Church of God, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Take thou authority to read 
the Holy Scriptures in the Church of God, and to preach 
the same." 

The vows of an elder recite with still greater de- 
tail the duties of faithfully ministering *'the doctrine, 
sacraments, and discipline of Christ :" 

When those vows have been publicly ajtd solemnly taken '-'the 
Bishops luith the elde7's present, shall lay their hands severally 
npo7i the head of every one that receiveth the order of elders, 
the receivers himibly kneeling upon their knees, and the Bishop 
saying, 

"The Lord pour upon thee the Holy Ghost for the office and 
work of an elder in the Church of God, now committed unto 
thee by the authority of the Church, through the imposition of 
our hands. And be thou a faithful dispenser of the word of 
God and of his holy sacraments, in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'''' 

" Then the Bishop shall deliver to every one of them kneeling 
the Bible into his hands, saying, 

" Take thou authority, as an elder in the Church, to preach 
the word of God and to administer the holy sacraments in the 
cono^resation." 

Persons who have taken upon themselves these 
solemn vows and have accepted these impressive 
charges, or who contemplate doing so, can not be 
too studious of their meaning or too sensible of the 
weight and continuity of obligation they impose. 



AN OFFICE OF OVERSIGHT. 1 53 



CHAPTER V. 

SPECIAL CHARACTER AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE 
PASTORATE. 

THUS far the Christian ministry has been con- 
sidered in its aggregated or integral character. 
Nevertheless, its leading functions have been shown 
to be separable into two important classes, each of 
which, in a thorough discussion, calls for separate, 
though not exclusive treatment. Corresponding to 
the general design of a treatise heretofore published 
on "The True Theory and Practice of Preaching," it 
is now proposed to develop the essential character, 
relations, and bearings of the pastoral office. As the 
former treatise did not ignore pastoral obligations, so 
the present will claim preaching as an important, in- 
deed an essential, agency of complete pastoral success. 
In its intrinsic character the Christian pastorate is 
an office of oversight, of moral guardian- Preliminary 
ship, and of spiritual counsel. It was not '"^'''^■ 
till the coming of Christ that the office of a religious 
pastor was fully illustrated. Neither the term nor 
the idea was ordinarily applied to the priests or 
prophets of the Old Testament. In the prophecy 
of Jeremiah the term is thus applied in a few in- 
stances. One of the most remarkable is that wliich 
declares, "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and 



154 CHRIST THE CHIEF SHEPHERD. 

scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord." 
This denunciation is immediately followed by a strik- 
ing prediction of opposite results under the glorious 
reign of the Messiah: "And I will gather the rem- 
nant of my flock out of all countries whither I have 
driven them, . . . and I will set up shepherds 
over them which shall feed them, and they shall fear 
no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lack- 
ing, saith the Lord." Jer. xxiii, 1-4. 

In accordance with prophetic declarations, Christ 
appeared and represented himself as the Good Shep- 
herd, who knows his sheep, and is known of his. 
Most strikingly did he set forth the difference be- 
tween the true shepherd and the hireling, and with- 
eringly did he rebuke the unfaithful Jewish teachers 
when he said, "All that ever came before me are 
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear 
them." In various ways did the Good Shepherd not 
only indicate his own character, but the correspond- 
ing relation which his people sustain to him. The 
most endearing terms by which he spoke of them 
had reference to this relation. When he would com- 
fort his disciples against the gloom of impending 
sorrow and trial he said, "Fear not, little flock, it is 
your Father's good pleasure to give you the king- 
dom." When he gave through Peter his final charge 
to the twelve he said, "Feed my lambs," "feed my 
sheep." The several passages in the Acts of the 
Apostles, and also in the Epistles, in which the 
Church is denominated "the flock" recognize the 
pastoral relation either of the Chief Shepherd or of 
under-shepherds appointed to represent him. The 



PASTORAL DUTIES. T55 

office thus introduced and established contemplates 
the special service of the Redeemer of the world. 
From it we see that, in addition to the general prov- 
idential care which God exercises over mankind, he 
specially provides for the spiritual welfare of his 
children. 

The chief duties of the pastoral office may be 
summarily indicated in three words — -feed, 

. Watch-words. 

gtnde, guard. The first work of the Chris- 
tian pastor is to "feed the flock over which the Holy 
Ghost hath made him overseer !" In order to do this 
he must diligently and daily gather the manna sent 
down from heaven. He must break and distribute 
to the multitude the loaves which Christ has blessed. 
He must faithfully dispense the word of life. He 
must perseveringly teach from the sacred desk and 
from house to house. In order to do this work 
properly he must comply with the exhortation of 
the apostle, " Be instant in season, out of season ; 
reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and 
doctrine." But as the flock is passing through an 
enemy's country it requires to be led and guided by 
one who knows the perils of the way, and who, amid 
all the fascinations of the tempter and all the allure- 
ments of the broad road that leads to death, will 
unswervingly pursue the narrow path. What a woe 
belongs to the blind or unfaithful guide who leads 
the flock astray or causes its members to be lost in 
the wilderness of error or of sin ! Inasmuch, also, 
as the flock is often assaulted by *'the wolf of hell," 
under various guises and with various weapons, it is 
the duty of the faithful pastor to stand guard as a 



156 VARIATIONS. 

sentinel upon the watch-towers of Zion, to furnish 
both alarm and defense in the time of danger. In 
accordance with this idea, the ordination vow of 
every bishop and elder of our Church pledges him 
to be "ready with all faithful diligence to banish and 
drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines con- 
trary to God's word, and to use both public and pri- 
vate monitions and exhortations, as well to the sick 
as to the whole, as need shall require and occasion 
be given." 

Since the establishment of Christianity, in the 
earth, and wherever it has extended, the pastoral 
office has been recognized, although its exercise has 
been attended with more or less variations, as differ- 
ent systems of Church polity have prevailed. While 
it might be interesting, and perhaps profitable, to 
trace the variations of pastoral authority and custom 
through different ages and countries, still it is more 
important to ascertain the proper claims and respon- 
sibilities devolving upon Christian pastors at the pres- 
ent time and in our own country. Without alluding 
to minor differences, it is obvious that pastors are 
very difterently circumstanced in Churches organized 
under the voluntary system from those appointed over 
Churches in union with states, of whatever form of 
government. In the latter many of the duties of the 
clergy are defined by civil law, and their authority is 
prescribed and controlled by temporal power. Be- 
sides, pastoral appointments are made through per- 
sonal or political patronage, Avithout reference to the 
will of the people. 

But under the voluntary system the pastoral office 



THE VOL UN TAR V S YSTEM, 1 5 / 

over any given flock is the result of a free choice, 
or of spiritual affinities which render its exercise a 
mutual joy and advantage, provided it be exercised 
with fidelity and discretion. While in the United 
States of America the conventionalities of ancient 
and foreign custom have little weight, yet in no 
country of the world is true merit more respected, 
nor have earnest Christian ministers any wider or 
more promising field for religious effort. This state 
of things is favorable to the development of a high 
standard of pastoral character,- and, although distin- 
guished by numerous advantages that have resulted 
from the progress and influence of Christianity, it is 
similar, in many respects, to the condition of the 
early Church in the days of its primitive purity and 
power. Neither the apostles, elders, or bishops of 
the New Testament Church had presentations to liv- 
ings, benefices, advowsons, or endowments of any 
kind. They, indeed, recognized the principle that 
those who preached the 2:0s pel should live 

^ i3 r ]sjg^y Testa- 

of the gospel, but, failing of a necessary ment chmches 
support from the Churches which they 
founded and served, their own hands ministered to 
their necessities, nor would they suffer themselves to 
be a burden to any. In this way, though poor, they 
made many rich, and by the willing sacrifice of them- 
selves they laid the foundations of Churches wherever 
they could find access for the truth. From numer- 
ous expressions in the inspired epistles we learn that 
the apostles themselves relied solely on divine grace 
and their own moral and spiritual influence for the 
power they sought to wield in behalf of the souls of 



158 THE MESSIAH A SHEPHERD. 

men. They recognized their appointment to be of | 
God ; nevertheless they only claimed reverence and 
estimation for their work's sake. ''We beseech you, 
brethren, to know them which labor among you, and 
are over you in the Lord, and admonish you ; and 
to esteem them very highly in love for their work's 
sake." I Thess. v, 12, 13. "Remember them which 
have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you 
the word of God : whose faith follow, considering the 
end of their conversation." Heb. xiii, 7. | 

Assuming, then, that the condition of the volun- 
tary Churches of America in the full religious liberty 
they enjoy is favorable to the exercise of the pastoral 
office according to its scriptural design, it becomes 
important to learn from the Holy Scriptures what 
that design is. 

In considering this subject attention may be given 
to, I. The pastoral cJiaracter of the Messiah as foi'e- 
shadozved by prophecy. 

"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall 
gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in 
his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with 
young." Isaiah xl, 11. "I will set up one shepherd 
over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant 
David ; he shall feed them, and be their shepherd." 
Ezek. xxxiv, 23. 

Without accumulating quotations of this class, we 
may consider, 2. TJie developed character of Christ as 
the chief Shepher^d of God's spiritual fold. 

"Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." " I am 
the good shepherd : the good shepherd giveth his life 



THE LAMB OF GOD. 1 59 

for the sheep." "I am the good shepherd, and know 
my sheep, and am known of mine." "I lay down 
my hfe for the sheep." '* There shall be one fold, 
and one shepherd." " Therefore doth my Father love 
me, because I lay down my life that I might take 
it again." "My sheep hear my voice, and I know 
them, and they follow me. And I give unto them 
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall 
any man pluck them out of my hand." John x, 7, 
II, 14-17, 27, 28. 

Thus our Savior not only recognized his own pas- 
toral character, but he explained and illustrated it by 
allusions to his impending sacrificial death, which had 
also been the burden of prophecy. In reference to 
this crowning end of Christ's earthly mission the 
prophetic figures had also designated him as "a lamb 
brought to the slaughter." Isaiah liii, 7; Jer. xi, 19. 
This additional figure, based at once on pastoral life 
and sacrificial customs, took a strong hold upon the 
Oriental mind. Hence the significant exclamation of 
John the Baptist when he identified Jesus as the 
manifested Messiah: "Behold the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sin of the world !" "Again, 
the next day after, John stood and two of his disci- 
ples ; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, 
Blehold the Lamb of God!" John i, 29, 35, 36. 

Following the crucifixion, the two great pastoral 
images of fulfilled prophecy, namely, of the shepherd 
and the lamb, became naturally blended in the Chris- 
tian mind. Thus, the chief Shepherd of Israel was 
seen to have been " the Lamb of God slain from the 
foundation of the world," who also, as the exalted 



l60 THE SLAIN LAMB. 

Savior, would in due time appear again to bestow a 
crown of glory upon each one of his faithful servants. 
I Pet. V, 4. Thus the term Lamb, at once indicative 
of spotless purity, and of the vicarious sacrifice pro- 
vided for *' a world of sinners lost," came to be one of 
the most endearing appellations of the risen Savior, 
associated also with the attributes of a Shepherd car- 
ing for- his flock, and of a King seated upon his throne 
of power. Witness various expressions of the Reve- 
lation. " And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the 
throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the 
elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain." " And I 
beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round 
about the throne, . . . saying with a loud voice, 
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, 
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and 
glory, and blessing." Rev. v, 6, 11, 12. "After this 
I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man 
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peo- 
ple, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before 
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in 
their hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying. Sal- 
vation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb. . . . These are they which came 
out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, 
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. . . . 
He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; 
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For 
the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall 
feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains 
of waters." Rev. vii, 9, 10, 14-17. 



MINGLED ALLUSIONS. l6l 

The blending of allusions to royal and pastoral life 
was in harmony with the history of David, the shep- 
herd king, and one of the most prominent types of 
Christ. Who can fail to see its beauty and its force 
in illustrating the duty and constant care of a good 
shepherd to feed, lead, and guard his flock ? Not only 
will he protect them from marauding wolves, but from 
the heat of the burning sun. Other quotations will 
show how the sheep of the great Shepherd are to be 
distinguished. 

" And I saw another angel ascending from the east, 
having the seal of the living God : and he cried with 
a loud voice to the four angels, . . . saying. Hurt 
not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we 
have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads." 
Rev. vii, 2, 3. " And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood 
on the mount Sion, and with him a hundred and forty- 
four thousand, having his Father's name written in 
their foreheads." Rev. xiv, i. No possible combina- 
tion of expressive figures could more strikingly indi- 
cate the glories of redemption than these by which 
the sympathetic Shepherd and the spotless suffering 
Lamb are forever united in the one character of the 
promised Redeemer. But the pastoral idea is still 
further intensified in those figures of the Revelation 
in which the Church, the flock of the great Shepherd, 
is also represented as " the bride, the Lamb's wife." 
" And there came unto me one of the seven angels, 
. . . and talked with me, saying. Come hither, I 
will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he 
carried me away in the spirit to a great and high 
mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy 

14 



1 62 LESSONS OF REVELATION. 

Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." 
*' And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God Al- 
mighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the 
city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to 
shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the 
Lamb is the light thereof" Rev. xxi, 9, 10, 22, 23. 

In the following and concluding chapter the de- 
scription of the new Jerusalem culminates in a state- 
ment of the object for which the holy city is appointed, 
namely, to be the eternal home of the Redeemer and 
the redeemed. " The throne of God and of the Lamb 
shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve him : and 
they shall see his face ; and his name shall be in their 
foreheads." Rev. xxii, 3, 4. Thus it appears, that in 
the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ 
there will be an exact correspondence between those 
who "are written in the Lamb's book of life" and 
the souls upon whom the name and the moral image 
of Jesus are inscribed. 

From out of this marvelous imagery the plainest 
and most profitable lessons of instruction may be de- 
rived, (i.) Christ, as the chief Shepherd, is the pro- 
prietor of the flock ransomed by his atoning blood — 
" the blood of the Lamb." (2.) As the shepherd 
marks each member of his flock with his own name, 
or some distinguishing character, so each believing 
heart needs to receive the seal of the divine adop- 
tion, the impress of the eternal name. (3.) It is 
the ofBce and work of Christ's under-shepherds, 
while feeding, leading, and guarding his flock, to im- 
press this sacred name and character upon every one 
of its members. 



UNDER-SHEPHERDS. 1 63 

Attention may now be given to, 3. The Saviors ap- 
pointvient of CJiristian pastors as Jus 7mcier-shepherds. 

As one . of the preparatory agencies for the intro- 
duction of Christ's kingdom upon earth the Jewish 
Scriptures abounded in allusions to pastoral life, in 
which the people of God were represented as his 
flock, and their appointed teachers as pastors. See 
Ps. Ixxvii, 20; Ixxviii, 52; Ixxx, i; Zech. ix, 16; x, 
2, 3. Our Savior repeatedly employed similar allu- 
sions, with the same significance. He said of himself. 
Matt. XV, 24, " I am not sent but to the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel." In his primary commission of 
the twelve disciples he said, " Go to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel, and as ye go, preach, saying, 
The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Subsequently he 
uttered his memorable discourse on the shepherd and 
the sheep, already referred to, and reported so graph- 
ically in the loth chapter of John, and identifying him 
as the true Shepherd, who would lay down his life for 
the sheep. When he had gathered around him a small 
company of disciples, the nucleus of the infant Church, 
he said to them, " Fear not, little flock ; it is your 
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 
Luke xii, 32. He also, in due time, charged his 
trained disciples with the pastoral care of that same 
flock. Nothing could have been more significant or 
impressive than the Savior's thrice-repeated injunc- 
tion to Peter, as a representative apostle, " Feed my 
lambs." '' Feed my sheep." John xxi, 15, 17. Given 
as this solemn and reiterated charge was, after his 
resurrection from the dead, and prior to his glorious 
ascension, it stands out as the crowning obligation of 



164 THE GREA T COMMISSION. 

all true Christian ministers, and the perpetual test of 
their personal love of the Savior himself After such 
a summary and emphatic declaration from the lips of 
the Savior, enjoining upon his ministers the office and 
duty of pastors to his Church, it was not necessary 
for him greatly to multiply words or precepts of the 
same significance. And yet in this closing command 
to his disciples, usually denominated " the great com- 
mission," the pastoral idea is made prominent — indeed, 
its embodiment in that final and authoritative utter- 
ance may justly be considered the culmination of his 
earthly ministry. " And Jesus came and spake unto 
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven 
and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to ob- 
serve all things whatsoever I have commanded you : 
and, lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the 
w^orld." If this command was missionar}^ in its char- 
acter, it was none the less pastoral. So long, then, 
as it shall remain the duty of the Church to evan- 
gelize the nations, it will be a corresponding duty to 
provide for them wholesome religious instruction, and 
the divine ordinances at the hands of duly appointed 
pastors. 

4. The apostolic idea of the pastoral office. 

Although the apostolic age was a period of mis- 
sionary labor, yet the apostles, from the first, recog- 
nized their pastoral responsibility, and illustrated their 
high conceptions of it in all the inspired epistles they 
wrote. Witness the charge of Paul to the elders 
of Ephesus. " Take heed therefore unto yourselves, 



PETER'S PRECEPTS. 1 65 

and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath 
made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which 
he' hath purchased with his own blood. For I know 
this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves 
enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of 
your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse 
things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore 
watch!" Acts xx, 28-31. The Pastoral Epistles to 
Timothy and Titus, already referred to and quoted, 
on pages 66-9, are a standing proof of the large share 
of attention given to this subject by the apostle to 
the Gentiles in the instructions he has left on record 
for ministers and Churches. 

Peter, also, in his Epistles General, shows how faith- 
fully he remembered, to the end of his earthly career, 
the thrice-repeated injunction of his risen Lord. "The 
elders which are among you I exhort : . . . Feed 
the flock of God which is among you, taking the over- 
sight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly ; not for 
filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; neither as being 
lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the 
flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye 
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 
I Pet. V, 1-4. 

In addition to the direct employment of pastoral 
figures to illustrate pastoral duty, the apostles give 
many significant illustrations of the same idea in 
other forms. 

Consideration will now be given to several impor- 
tant appellations, besides that of pastors, applied by 
the apostles to themselves and their Christian co- 
laborers, the under-shepherds of their common Lord, 



1 66 THE PASTORATE A TEACHING OFFICE, 

I. Teachers. The historic order of ministerial devel- 
opment is clearly indicated in the oft-quoted passage, 
Eph. iv, II, 12: "And he gave some, apostles; and 
some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, 
pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, 
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the 
body of Christ." The apostolic office, being primary 
and associated with prophetic gifts, prepared the way 
for the general dissemination of the gospel by a more 
numerous company of evangelists, following whose 
labors pastors and teachers came to be a permanent 
necessity, and were accordingly provided by the great 
Head of the Church. The coupling of the terms pas- 
tor and teacher together in this connection is in itself 
a comment on the meaning of both. It shows that 
the pastor is to feed his flock with intellectual and 
spiritual food, while as a religious teacher he is to 
communicate the saving knowledge of the Son of God 
as a means of edifying, singly and collectively, the 
body of Christ. 

The Christian pastorate, then, is a teaching office. 
Christ himself was a teacher sent from God, and in 
that respect a prototype of every true pastor appointed 
for his Church, The apostles taught, as an important 
function of their early ministry. Even though perse- 
cuted for so doing, " daily in the temple, and in every 
house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus 
Christ." Acts v, 42. 

When the apostle Paul enjoined upon Timothy the 
duty of committing the ministry of the gospel to wor- 
thy successors, he employed this language : " The 
things that thou hast heard of me among many wit- 



ESSENTIAL REQUISITIONS. \6j 

nesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who 
shall be able to teach others also." 2 Tim. ii, 2. 
In this precept two grand requisitions are made as 
essential to ministerial character: i. Faith, a moral 
and spiritual qualification. 2. Ability to teach, a qual- 
ification resulting from natural gifts, proper cultiva- 
tion, and experience. 

While the value of faith as a means of personal sal- 
vation can not be overestimated, yet not all men who 
possess it are capable of becoming public instructors. 
The apostle Paul most forcibly inculcates diligent effort 
to acquire knowledge as an essential means of prep- 
aration to teach. " Thou therefore which teachest 
another, teachest thou not thyself.'*" Rom. ii, 2i. 
" Study to show thyself approved unto God, a work- 
man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing 
the word of truth." 2 Tim. ii, 15. The capacity of 
teaching, then, may be both acquired and improved. 
Hence ministers are answerable, in a high degree, for 
its possession, its cultivation, and its use. 

Nevertheless, in order to teach divine truth effect- 
ually, there must be a sincere dependence on the aid 
of divine grace and wisdom. The apostle Paul illus- 
trates this in several striking passages : " Not that we 
are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of our- 
selves ; but our sufficiency is of God ; who also hath 
made us able ministers of the New Testament." 2 
Cor. iii, 5, 6. "By the grace of God I am what I am : 
and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not 
in vain." i Cor. xv, 10. " I was made a minister, ac- 
cording to the gift of the grace of God given unto me 
by the effectual working of his power." Eph. iii, 7. 



1 68 WARNINGS. 

Peter also teaches the same doctrine : " If any man 
minister, let him do it as of the ability which God 
giveth ; that God in all things may be glorified 
through Jesus Christ." i Pet. iv, ii. 

Not only is the religious teacher required to culti- 
vate knowledge and a sound understanding, as a 
means of discharging properly his pastoral obliga- 
tions, he is also held responsible for the correctness 
of his doctrine (teaching), and expressly forbidden to 
teach any other doctrine than the commandments of 
God. I Tim. i, 1-3 ; Gal. i, 8, 9. 

The apostle Paul's suggestions on this subject are 
numerous and definite : " Speak thou the things that 
become sound doctrine." " In doctrine showing un- 
corruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that can 
not be condemned." Tit. ii, 1,7, 8. " Be not carried 
about with divers and strange doctrines." Heb. xiii, 
9. " Let no corrupt communication proceed out of 
your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edi- 
fying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." 
Eph. iv, 29. The apostle John records a striking 
admonition against doctrinal apostasy. " Whosoever 
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of 
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doc- 
trine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." 
2 John, 9. Isaiah, in the olden time, had anathema- 
tized " the prophet that teacheth lies ;" and our Savior, 
in his day, had shown the vanity of "teaching for 
doctrines the commandments of men," and illustrated 
its consequences by his word-picture of the blind 
leading the bhnd, and both falling into the ditch. 
Matt. XV, 8, 14. The apostle Peter faithfully warned 



THE WATCHMEN OF ZION. 1 69 

the Church against " false teachers, who privily shall 
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord 
that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift 
destruction." 2 Pet. ii, i. Such warnings against 
doctrinal error and its consequences suggest the fact 
that an important part of the duty of the faithful 
pastor is to warn and admonish those committed to 
his care against the corruptions that are in the world 
through lust and sin ; " warning every man, and teach- 
ing every man in all wisdom ; that we may present 
every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Col. i, 28. Thus, 
in an important sense. Christian pastors are also, 

2. Watchmen. " Obey them that have the rule over 
you, and submit yourselves : for they watch for your 
souls as they that must give account." Heb. xiii, 17. 
The idea of watchfulness for souls had been strik- 
ingly illustrated in connection with the prophetic 
office among the Jews. "I set watchmen over you, 
saying. Hearken to the sound of the trumpet." Jer. 
vi, 17. "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman 
unto the house of Israel ; therefore hear the word at 
my mouth, and give them warning from me. When 
I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die ; and 
thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn 
the wicked from his wicked way to save his life ; the 
same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his 
blood will I require at thine hand." Ezek. iii, 17, 18. 
"If the watchman see the sword come, and blow not 
the trumpet, and the people be not warned ; if the 
sword come and take any person from among them, 
he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will 
I require at the watchman's hand." Ezek. xxxiii, 6. 

15 



170 DUTY OF WATCHFULNESS. 

Our Savior himself, with the greatest emphasis, 
enjoined upon his disciples watchfulness, and watch- 
fulness accompanied by prayer, as a means of escap- 
ing temptation. Mark xiii, 37. The apostles reiter- 
ated the command, "Let us watch and be sober." i 
Thess. V, 6. " Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto 
prayer." i Peter iv, 7. Paul, also, in the last epistle 
written by his inspired pen, specially enjoins watchful- 
ness on Timothy as essential to the accompHshment 
of his ministerial work. "Watch thou in all things, 
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make 
full proof of thy ministry." 2 Tim. iv, 5. 

The human mind can not grasp a higher sense of 
responsibility than that with which the watchman for 
souls is invested. He recognizes himself and should 
be recognized by his flock as, in an important sense, 
his brother's keeper. The care of souls rests upon 
him as an anxiety for which he can have no relief 
but in their salvation. Yet how has this sacred idea 
been trifled with in the perfunctory discharge or habit- 
ual neglect of pastoral duties, and in the buying and 
selling of curacies. 

3. Overseers. Oversight is the essential quality of 
a true episcopal office. True pastors, according to 
St. Paul, are made overseers of the flock of God 
by the Holy Ghost. Peter also enjoins the duty of 
oversight, not by constraint, but willingly, and thus 
teaches that pastoral oversight is not that of a task- 
master lording it over God's heritage, but rather that 
of the tenderest and most disinterested solicitude for ! 
the welfare of each member of the flock. It is the 
solicitude of the nurse for her charge. "We w;ere 



PATERNAL SOLICITUDE, 171 

gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her 
children ; so, being affectionately desirous of you, we 
were wilHng to have imparted unto you not the gos- 
pel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye 
were dear unto us." i Thess. ii, 7, 8. 

4. Fathers. The apostolic tenderness and solici- 
tude rose higher than even that of the nurse, and 
became parental. "Ye know how we exhorted, and 
comforted, and charged every one of you as a father 
doth his children." i Thess. ii, 11. Again the same 
apostle says to the Corinthians: "My beloved sons, 
I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand in- 
structors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers : for 
in Christ Jesus I have begotten yoa through the 
gospel." I Cor. iv, 14, 15. Paul also enjoins upon 
Timothy filial respect toward elders in the Church. 
"Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father." 
I Tim. V, I. Few ideas are more beautiful than that 
of a pastor attaining parental influence over his flock, 
and of his people gladly according to him parental 
oversight of their most sacred interests. 

The Greek and Roman Churches apply the term 
to all who assume the clerical office, and in so doing 
indicate what the office and its possessor ought to be. 
There is reason, however, to think that the apostolic 
idea of spiritual fatherhood as an attribute of the 
pastoral office is less comprehended in those old and 
spiritually dead Churches than in the living Churches 
of Protestant countries. On the part of the people 
there is a greater appreciation, amounting, indeed, to 
a superstitious reverence for the clerical office, but 
on the part of the clergy, priests so-called, lax views 



1/2 



PL A INTERS AND BUILDERS. 



Df spiritual experience and obligation, and still looser 
practice. Happy would it be if the character of the 
true Christian father were exemplified by ministers 
of every branch and family of those that profess and 
call themselves Christians. 

The apostle Paul still further illustrates pastoral 
duty by his employment of agricultural and mechan- 
ical terms in reference to the labor which ministers 
are required diligently to put forth in the work of 
the Lord. According to his impressive statement in 
the third chapter of first Corinthians, all true minis- 
ters are "laborers together with God." Some plant, 
some water, but God giveth the increase. "Now he 
that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every 
man shall receive his own reward according to his 
own labor." Verse 8. Dropping this figure of hus- 
bandry, the apostle proceeds to treat of the Church 
as " God's building," and of ministers as, 

5. Biulders. "According to the grace of God which 
is given unto me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid 
the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But 
let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, 
which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon 
this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, 
hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made mani- 
fest, for the day shall declare, because it shall be 
revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's 
work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide 
which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a 
reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall 
suffer loss." i Cor. iii, 10-15. 



GOD'S TEMPLE. 1 73 

In this language of the inspired apostle the respon- 
sibility of the minister as a builder for God is strik- 
ingly set forth. Human souls, edified (built up) with 
divine truth, will form a glorious temple to the praise 
of the divine goodness ; but, treated with the untem- 
pered mortar or the worthless material of human 
devising, they perish in the hour of trial and become 
a ruin, while the souls of their attempted builders 
suffer loss and are exposed to eternal jeopardy from 
their unwise proceeding. On the other hand, what a 
glorious privilege it is to build for God on the ever- 
lasting foundation laid in Zion! Here redeemed 
mortals may build for eternity, rearing structures of 
Christian life and character which the tooth of time 
can not corrode and the fires of the judgment can 
not burn. 

6. Stewards. Kindred to the idea of the Church 
as God's building is that of ministerial stewardship 
in the temples which they labor to rear. '' Let a 
man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, 
and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it 
is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." 
I Cor. iv, I, 2. 

As fidelity is the crowning excellence in the char- 
acter of a steward, so a spotless fidelity is essential 
in administering the affairs of God's house or build- 
ing, the Church. The pastor needs to be faithful in 
all his duties — in warning every man and teaching 
every man, in rebuking and exhorting with all long- 
suffering and doctrine, as well as in study and in 
prayer — that, as a man of God, he may be perfect and 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Christ is 



174 FAITHFULNESS, 

referred to in the Epistle to the Hebrews as a model 
of fidelity — "a merciful and faithful high-priest in 
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for 
the sins of the people. Wherefore, holy brethren, 
partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apos- 
tle and high-priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, 
who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also 
Moses was faithful in all his house." Heb. ii, 17; iii, 
I, 2. The term faithful is applied in the New Testa- 
ment to various approved ministers and apostles as 
indicating one of the most commendable traits of 
character. "Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who 
is for you a faithful minister of Christ." Col. i, 7. 
"Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in 
the Lord, shall make known to you all things." Eph. 
vi, 21. '*I have sent unto you Timotheus, who is my 
beloved son and faithful in the Lord." i Cor. iv, 17. 
"I [Paul] give my judgment as one that has obtained 
mercy of the Lord to be faithful." i Cor. vii, 25. 

With such examples for his guidance and encour- 
agement, the modern pastor may also hope, through 
the divine mercy and grace, to become a faithful 
steward in whatever pertains to his responsibilities 
to God and the Church. 

In all the foregoing diversified expositions of pas- 
toral duty, responsibility appears co-extensive with 
obligation. It may be added that pastoral respon- 
sibility is intensified by two great considerations: 
(i.) The divine appointment of the pastoral office. 
(2.) The nature of the work committed to it, viz. : the 
moral and spiritual guardianship of immortal souls. 
In whatever light regarded, the pastoral office may 



THE TRUE SUCCESSION. 1 75 

be seen to devolve on its possessor responsibilities of 
unsurpassed magnitude and importance. It is not an 
office of ceremony, but of work, (^tazovf'av, service — 2 
Cor. iv, I,) of trust, of care, of parental solicitude, of 
architectural skill as a builder of the Church on the 
rock Christ Jesus, and of religious faithfulness in 
things pertaining to God, whether relating to time 
or to eternity. Such a work transcends all compari- 
son with merely human or secular engagements. 

The pastoral office has thus far been considered in 
the light of a personal agency, and as such alone it 
is sublime. But it rises to a still grander importance 
when seen to be invested with organic power. Pas- 
tors die, but the Church is immortal. Nevertheless, 
each true pastor, by faithful service, contributes not 
only to the perpetuation, but to the wider extension 
of the Church. A Christian shepherd takes the over- 
sight of souls. Aggregately they form a single flock. 
But the flock is designed to increase in numbers, and 
with its growth to become divisible, forming addi- 
tional flocks and founding other Churches, each of 
which will have expansive and self-multiplying power. 
Individuals in the original flock and in every Church 
that may grow out of it may, under pastoral influence, 
be themselves called to the ministry, and become, in 
due time, the founders and pastors of other Churches 
which shall go on multiplying to the end of time. 

"So shall the bright succession run 
Through all the courses of the sun." 

See what has followed from the faithful ministry 
of the apostles, and also from the initial labors of 



1^6 OUR SUFFICIENCY OF GOD. 

individual ministers in various countries, as Wesley 
in England, and Asbury in America. 

While in human history comparatively few individ- 
uals will stand out prominently as the founders of 
large associated Churches, yet, under the omniscience 
of God and in the light of eternity, every minister's 
work will appear, and he that has been faithful in his 
lot and sphere of duty will have a reward proportion- 
ate to the grandeur of the success he has done his 
part toward accomplishing. 

Well might an apostle exclaim, " Who is sufficient 
for these things T' And well may every succeeding 
minister follow the apostle in saying, "Not that we 
are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of our- 
selves ; but our sufficiency is of God." 2 Cor. iii, 5. 

Well, too, may the Church continue to sing, 

" 'T is not a cause of small import 
The pastor's care demands, 
~~ But what might fill an angel's heart, 

And filled a Savior's hands. 

They watch for souls for which the Lord 

Did heavenly bliss forego ; 
For souls which must forever live 

In raptures or in woe." 



VARIETY OF TALENT. I J J 



CHAPTER VI. 

QUALIFICATIONS DESIRABLE IN A CHRISTIAN 
PASTOR. 

IN view of the high and sacred designs of the 
Christian pastorate, many important, and to some 
extent pecuKar, qualifications are desirable to all on 
whom the office devolves. It is not indeed to be ex- 
pected that all pastors will be alike in their tempera- 
ments or endowments. Nor is it even to be desired 
that there should be any constrained uniformity in the 
habits or characters of Christian ministers. On the 
other hand, the Church needs in its service precisely 
that variety of talent which God bestows upon men, 
and which divine grace can adapt to the great and 
varied purposes of Christianity. Therefore, as the 
imitation of Christ is possible and necessary to be- 
lievers of all ages, capacities, and circumstances, and 
as in education the same elementary studies are nec- 
essary to the development of all grades and varieties 
of talent, so in the Christian pastorate the same ge- 
neric virtues may be commended to the acquisition of 
all who are called to the office without any fear of 
marring individuality, or producing undesirable same- 
ness as a result. 

It is important for young men contemplating minis- 
terial life to set before their minds a high and just 



178 EXPERIENCE OF PIETY, 

standard of attainments and character at which to aim. 
In so doing, advantage will be gained by adopting a 
comprehensive classification. For example, the lead- 
ing qualifications desirable in Christian pastors may 
be grouped under three generic heads — Experience, 
Knowledge, Character. 

I.' Experience. No inexperienced man is qualified 
to have the care and leadership of a Christian Church, 
or the responsible oversight of souls. "Not a nov- 
ice," says St. Paul ; and yet St. Paul recognized the 
youthful Timothy as a worthy leader in the apostolic 
Church, and charged him, " Let no man despise thy 
youth, but be thou an example of the believers, in 
word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in 
purity." This, moreover, is what every pastor, how- 
ever young, should aim to do and to be. 

Experience is of various kinds. Sometimes it is 
easily and sometimes slowly and painfully acquired. 
Youth may make rapid progress in its acquisition, and . 
advanced age rarely, if ever, gets beyond the possi- 
bihty of profiting by its instructions. To begin at 
the foundation, it may be remarked, that every candi- 
date for the pastoral office should have a genuine 
experience of, 

I. Piety. His piety should be sincere, earnest, deep, 
growing. He who would be instrumental in the con- 
version of sinners must himself know what conversion 
is. He who would lead men in the path of life must 
have already trod that narrow way, and be actually 
treading in it. He who would teach the truth must 
both comprehend and exemplify the truth. He who 
would feed the sheep of Christ's fold, and lead them 



FAVORABLE CONDITIONS. 



179 



to living fountains of waters, must have himself tasted 
" the hidden manna" and have drank water at the well 
of salvation. He who would make every man perfect 
in Christ Jesus, must have himself learned to love the 
Lord his God with all his heart, and his neighbor as 
himself The Christian minister, therefore, should 
aim to be a model of enlightened and consistent piety 
both for the sake of his own soul's welfare and the 
highest good of others. Such a result is not to be 
attained by good wishes, assumptions, or professions 
merely, although it is doubtless a duty to profess 
whatever state of grace one is enabled to enjoy. Es- 
sential to it are habits of devotion, and sincere and 
constant efforts to attain the mind that was also in 
Christ. 

It can not be denied that ministers have many ad- 
vantages for a life of piety. All the precepts and 
promises of God's word have their primary and high- 
est application to them. Their associations and em- 
ployments are favorable to religious enjoyment and 
progress ; very different, indeed, from those of men 
of business, whose time and attention are necessarily 
engrossed with secular cares and conversation. But 
the ministerial calling is not in itself a guarantee for 
true or continued piety. Indeed, ministers are subject 
to some peculiar difficulties and temptations. They 
are sometimes flattered, and in danger of yielding to 
vain thoughts. They are often made the subjects of 
extraordinary confidence ; while, at other times, they 
are unjustly persecuted ; whereas the repetition of 
religious duties sometimes tends to dead formalism 
and perilous lukewarmness. Hence it is well not to 



l80 DIVINE CALL, 

forget that with all their advantages, helps, and mo- 
tives to eminent piety, there ever exists a fearful pos- 
sibility of ministerial apostasy. Even the apostle 
Paul did not disguise his deep concern, " lest that 
by any means when he had preached to others he 
himself should be a castaway." 

The minister's grand and unfailing source of safety, 
as against all such dangers, is provided for by our 
Savior's caution to his disciples, " Watch and pray, 
lest ye enter into temptation." The minister who is 
entirely consecrated to his work, and diligent in the 
divine service, may not only hope to escape the dan- 
ger of lukewarmness and apostasy, but to secure en- 
couragements to piety and faithfulness rarely accorded 
to other men. The consciousness of doing good may 
be his daily, hourly joy, and having an eye single to 
the divine glory, his whole body may be full of light. 
It may next be remarked, that every pastor should 
have a definite experience of, 

2. A divine call to the ministry. This experience 
should be something more than a conviction of the 
superior dignity of the clerical office, or of the proba- 
bihty of greater usefulness in it than in any other 
calling. It needs to be the realization of the divine 
voice speaking to the heart, and saying, "go," "preach," 
" teach." Whether prior or subsequent to conversion, 
it needs to have passed into the moral history of the 
individual that he is moved of the Holy Ghost to take 
upon him the office of the ministry, and that he has 
accepted the sacred mandate as the guidance and 
prompting of his future life. For further details of 
the nature of a divine call to the ministry, and of the 



CHURCH LIFE. l8l 

varied experiences through which it is made known, 
reference is made to chapters II and III, in which the 
subject is discussed at length. Candidates for the 
pastoral office should have an experience of, 

3. CJmrch life and labors. No theory is more erro- 
neous than that which, under whatever pretense, with- 
holds a candidate for the ministry from responsible 
Christian labor until his admission to holy orders or 
to pastoral appointment. Indeed, that young man 
who would excuse himself from effort to win souls 
and build up the Redeemer's kingdom till after he had 
completed his education and been formally appointed 
as a public teacher, would by such a course throw 
grave doubts both upon the reality of his call to the 
ministry and of his fitness for the sacred vocation. 
And that Church which would hedge young men 
about with restrictions or formalities that practically 
deter them from suitable religious activities, and even 
responsibilities, little deserves to have thoroughly 
trained and efficient pastors. Nor would it relieve 
the case of the supposed young man that he should 
profess great willingness to serve the Church, but 
only in a clerical way, and when put forward in a 
representative capacity. The truth is, that both the 
candidate and the Church need all the probation that 
can be secured for the development of the one and 
the satisfaction of the other, prior to the consumma- 
tion of so great a mutual responsibility as the ordi- 
nation or public appointment of a Christian pastor. 
But this probation, in its earlier stages, needs to be 
informally secured by the spontaneous though regu- 
lated action of the one, and th^ friendly and char- 



1 82 SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 

itable encouragement of the other. Happily the 
circumstances of the present age are favorable to 
the early and safe cultivation of a valuable experi- 
ence on the part of young Christians, which, in the 
case of those called to the ministry, may prove the 
basis of constantly increasing qualifications for the 
sacred office. 

The majority of those who become ministers of the 
gospel at the present period, whether trained in Chris- 
tian families or not, enter the Church through the 
training of the Sunday-school. They consequently, 
from early life, have great opportunities of observing 
the routine of Church labor, and of imbibing its spirit 
and habits. 

Not to enlarge upon the universal duty of Christian 
usefulness, it is specially in point here to say, that 
from the moment a young man feels himself moved of 
the Holy Ghost to preach the gospel, he should gladly 
and earnestly enter upon every opportunity afforded 
him to work for the divine Master, however indirectly 
it may at first seem tributary to the peculiar ob- 
jects on which his heart will thenceforth converge its 
thoughts and energies. Is it to work in the Sunday- 
school } Here is a field in which the most valuable 
experience may be acquired. Biblical studies, with ref- 
erence to imparting knowledge and explaining truth — 
face-to-face converse with the young — visiting the 
poor, the prodigal, and the careless, to gather in schol- 
ars — acts of benevolence to relieve the wretched and 
the vicious — feeding the hungry and clothing the 
naked — distributing tracts — visiting the sick and the 
imprisoned — these and all similar acts required in the 



BIBLE CLASSES. 1 83 

prosecution of Sunday-school work, especially among 
the destitute, will tend to show a young man what 
manner of spirit he is of, and whether he will or will 
not be able, through grace, to bear the yoke of the 
Master. If, as is to be expected of the sincere Chris- 
tian, he finds himself strengthened by these labors 
of love, and the trials to which they will subject him, 
he will thus be gaining strength for sterner conflicts, 
and wisdom for greater responsibilities. No oppor- 
tunity, therefore, to work in the Sunday-school should 
be omitted by one contemplating, however remotely, 
the duties of the pastoral office. Indeed, it is well 
for the ministerial candidate, in the course of his 
Sunday-school life, to participate actively in different 
branches of the work. It is desirable that he should 
have practice if competent, and if not, time and dili- 
gence will enable him to become so, in teaching juve- 
nile classes, infant classes, Bible classes, and even 
normal classes. Besides, he may profit by learning 
to discharge properly the duties of an officer in the 
Sunday-school, whether that of secretary, librarian, 
or superintendent. Work in Sunday-schools, in any 
or all of these forms, will secure to him experience 
valuable for his future duties, in proportion to the 
earnestness and thoroughness with which he has pros- 
ecuted it. Indeed, the minister trained up in this 
manner, will in his turn understand, as no other one 
can, the duties of a pastor to his Sunday-school. 
Though young, he will not be an amateur, but a vet- 
eran soldier in this corps of the army of the Lord. 
Thenceforward he can stand as a minute-man ready 
to do duty in whatever part of the ranks there may 



1 84 PRAYER FOR LABORERS. 

be a temporary necessity, thereby cheering the whole 
host with his presence and example. 

Perhaps a word may here be fitly said to pastors 
now in service, as well as to the officers and teachers 
of Sunday-schools. You doubtless recognize the duty 
of praying the Lord of the harvest that he would send 
forth laborers into his harvest. Has it occurred to 
you that if you sincerely offer that prayer, God may 
enable you instrumentally to answer it in your several 
spheres of labor t In this conviction ought you not 
to be looking out for special subjects of that prayer; 
and, having discovered them, ought you not also to 
encourage them to make special preparation for the 
work } " Kind words never die ;" and as God sent 
Ananias to the converted Saul of Tarsus to explain 
to him his duty of preaching to the Gentiles, perhaps 
he may have a similar work for you to do in reference 
to some obscure but pious youth now in danger of 
being overlooked by the Church and the world. The 
proper discharge of your duty may be to that youth 
the starting-point in a career of ministerial or mis- 
sionary influence that shall run on forever. 

Again, if you have in your Sunday-schools those 
who, though young, feel themselves moved by the 
Holy Ghost to preach the gospel, do not flatter them 
by compliments or injudicious attentions, but give 
them opportunities to work, which shall test both 
their zeal and their judgment. If they fail at first, 
deal kindly with them, and give them an opportunity 
to try again. If they succeed, encourage them to 
attempt still greater things for God, and in all cir- 
cumstances be not indifferent to the fact that their 



HOME MISSIONARY WORK, 1 85 

accumulating experience is a part of the instrumen- 
tality by which they may be fitted for the public 
service of the sanctuary and the pastoral office. In 
suitable candidates becoming thus fitted in ever- 
increasing numbers, the whole Church should feel a 
constant and growing interest. 

Preliminary experience in Church life and labor is 
not limited to Sunday-schools. Young men are often 
called to take part in more public eftorts to reform 
the morals and save the souls of men ; sometimes as 
exhorters or lay preachers, and sometimes as prayer 
leaders, or helpers in some other species of religious 
activity, such as the systematic visitation of jails, 
almshouses, or hospitals. In fact, every branch of 
home mission-work requires the co-operation of strong- 
hearted young men, and in every branch of Christian 
usefulness the candidate for the ministry may gain 
experience that will increase his qualifications for fu- 
ture and higher service in the Church. As daily 
occupation in any mechanical pursuit habituates the 
muscles to the required form of action, and the mind 
to a more perfect comprehension of the material on 
which it works, so diligent Christian occupation, even 
in early life, tends effectively to the acquisition of 
habits and experiences that will contribute greatly to 
success in the pastoral office. Specially should the 
ministerial candidate have experience of, 

4. The power and pleasiLre of excrthig good influences 
and of accomplishing residts. Too many seem to ex- 
pect results to come to them, rather than to spring 
from them. They consequently drift into public life, 
and wait for events to happen, instead of entering it 

16 



1 86 SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 

determined, with God's help, to make them happen. 
As "it is a good thing for a man to bear the yoke 
in his youth," so it is well for intending ministers to 
learn early that good and great results are rarely if 
ever accomplished without definite conceptions, judi- 
cious plans, and earnest efforts. 

II. Knowledge. Solomon says — Prov. xix, 2 — 
"that the soul be without knowledge it is not good." 
If this is true in application to men generally, how 
especially true is it with reference to ministers of the 
gospel ! They not only go before mankind as teach- 
ers, and hence ought to be competent to instruct, but 
as teachers of heavenly wisdom, and as representa- 
tives of a system of truth which claims superiority 
over all other systems. For such persons to be with- 
out knowledge in high and creditable degrees is not 
only to incur great risk of failure, but the hazard of 
dishonoring the cause they profess to love. 

It is to be presumed that actual or intending pas- 
tors will set a high value upon knowledge for its own 
sake, and that they will value it still more highly as 
an element of success in the ministry to which they 
feel themselves called. For their objects the depart- 
ments of knowledge admit of a classification somewhat 
peculiar, involving, indeed, what belongs to the most 
complete educational system, but distributing the top- 
ics with reference to the central idea of moral influence. 

I. Self-knowledge. This is a very comprehensive 
theme. It involves just conceptions of what relates 
to one's physical, mental, and moral being. 

(i.) It is of great importance for a Christian min- 
ister to understand well his own physical capacities 



PHYSIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE. 1 8/ 

and necessities. Neither Christians nor ministers, as 
such, have any exemption from the various physical 
ills to which humanity is subject. Indeed, it has 
sometimes happened that, through inattention to 
what has seemed to them of too small importance, 
they have become extraordinary sufferers. If in any 
system of education of which a minister or minis- 
terial candidate has had the advantage, the subject 
of human physiology has not been embraced, he 
should forthwith make it a special study. Nor 
should he content himself with theoretical knowl- 
edge, but rather apply the principles of the science 
to his personal habits in reference to diet, sleep, 
exercise, and the proper care and use of his physical 
powers, specially of speech and of vision. While it 
is possible so to employ one's eyes and voice as con- 
tinually to gain accuracy of perception and power 
and ease of expression, it is more than possible, by 
wrong courses, to seriously, if not fatally injure both. 
Intelligent and scrupulous care in the avoidance of 
all bad habits, such as the use of narcotics and stim- 
^ slants, and in the practice of habits of neatness, reg- 
..larity, and temperance, may enable any one to say, 
as did Paul, in reference to physical discipline as an 
agency of spiritual results : " Every man that striveth 
for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they 
do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incor- 
ruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; so 
fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep 
under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest 
that by any means, when I have preached to others, 
I myself should be a castaway." i Cor. ix, 25-27. 



1 88 MENTAL ADAPTATIONS. 

(2.) The minister should be able to form a just 
estimate of his own mental capacity and adaptations. 
He should not only be well acquainted wdth mental 
science for the sake of the rich fund of knowledge to 
which it will introduce him, but also especially as a 
help to a comprehension of the nature and uses of 
the powers with Avhich he has himself been endowed 
by his Creator. It is possible for an individual to 
determine, without either self-flattery or personal dis- 
couragement, what at least are his relative capacities 
for the various acquisitions necessary to the discharge 
of ministerial duties. To do so is, in a high degree, 
necessary to successful self-culture. When ignorance 
is so profound as not to comprehend the necessity 
and attractions of knowledge, its effect is kindred to 
that of an overweening estimate of one's own abil- 
ities. Both tend to indolence and incompetency. 
Well did the wise man say, " Before knowledge is 
humility," and it is seldom found that persons make 
earnest efforts for improvement until they become 
penetrated with a deep conviction of its present or 
prospective necessity. When, however, the feeling 
of a need of knowledge and of personal cultivation 
is accompanied by a consciousness of power to attain 
both, encouraging progress may be expected. 

While, during the course of an education, it is 
important to cultivate all the mental powers in a 
harmonious balance, especially those which are least 
active or weakest in the discharge of public dut}', it 
is proper to discriminate in favor of those faculties 
of the mind and those departments of knowledge 
which are most constantly and urgently called into 



HUMAN WEAKNESS. 1 89 

requisition. In fact, it becomes an imperative duty 
of a Christian minister to focalize both his studies 
and his energies upon tlie supreme and peculiar 
objects of his high calling, not being unmindful of 
the intimate relations subsisting between healthful 
mental and spiritual development. 

(3.) Not less important to every minister is a 
knowledge of his own moral weaknesses, whether of 
temper, of self-esteem, of ambition, of desire for ease, 
or whatever else is contrary to the mind that was in 
Christ. Probably this species of knowledge is most 
difficult of all to acquire. It is a common fault of 
our humanity to think more highly of ourselves than 
we ought to think, and yet there are cases of morbid 
self-distrust and under- valuation equally injurious to 
those who cherish them. If we would have truth 
written upon our hearts we should conceive it in our 
judgments and employ every just agency for its ac- 
quisition in reference to matters so closely allied to 
our happiness and usefulness. 

The following are prominent agencies of this spe- 
cies of knowledge: a. Self-examination, accompanied 
by the reading of the Scriptures and prayer, b. The 
conversation and counsel of competent and faithful 
friends, c. The perusal of good books on the sub- 
ject, such as Mason on Self-Knowledge, Edmondson 
on Self -Government, and Clark's Mental Discipline. 
Several of Mr. Wesley's sermons are excellent in 
view of the same object, e. g., those on "Wandering 
thoughts," "Satan's devices," and "On a single eye." 

The advantages of self-knowledge in reference to 
our mental and moral nature arc manifold. It aids 



190 



KNOWLEDGE OF MEN. 



its possessor in fixing attention, controlling thought, 
banishing dreamy reveries, governing desires, and in 
rightly ordering his words. In all these respects a 
pastor needs to be a model of propriety, purity, and 
practical holiness. 

2. The knowledge of society and of men. The pas- 
toral office inducts a man into public life, and brings 
him into association with persons of all grades and 
classes of society. The pastor consequently needs 
to know what is becoming to his position and duty 
in all varieties of circumstances. His knowledge on 
this point will come less from the precepts of others 
than from careful observation of the customs of good 
society, coupled with thoughtful consideration as to 
what is inherently fitting. 

While it is not desirable for ministers to be versed 
in the etiquette and hollow ceremonies of merely 
fashionable society, it is important that they should 
study the subject of manners from an intelligent and 
Christian point of view. If "he that winneth souls 
is wise," it can not be unwise in any one so far to 
study the best modes of access to those whom he 
would influence for good by private as well as by 
public address. 

Pastors are expected to be the faithful counselors 
and spiritual advisers of persons of various classes 
and circumstances. Hence they need the capacity 
of commanding respect and securing confidence. In 
the discharge of pastoral duties of all kinds it is 
specially important to be able to discern and rightly 
estimate the dispositions and characters of men. 
This ability is sometimes called a knowledge of 



WISDOM FROM ABOVE. I9I 

human nature. When this species of knowledge is 
sanctified, as it ever ought to be in the case of the 
Christian minister, it is kindred to the charism of 
the early Church called the discerning of spirits. 
For it, as a gift of great value, it is no doubt our 
duty to pray, as well as to strive by other appropri- 
ate means, coveting it earnestly. In addition to ear- 
nestly seeking the wisdom that cometh down from 
above in reference to this subject, we may expect to 
increase our comprehension of it by aid of the three 
great sources of knowledge — observation, reading, and 
reflection. While reading, accompanied by reflection, 
is of great importance in reference to the present 
topic, it is conceded that mere book-learning can not 
impart the acquisition desired. Men must be seen 
in the actual jostle and business of life in order to 
understand their ways, to penetrate the depths of 
their character, and to know how to address them 
most effectually on the subject of religion. Hence 
the study of mankind may very properly be extended 
to the various engagements in which men are occu- 
pied. Indeed, an acquaintance with any practical 
business, learned possibly in early life, may be ren- 
dered of no small service in furthering the objects 
of Christian address, and thus may be made, at least 
indirectly, to promote the interests of the Church by 
pastoral agency. 

3. A knowledge of books. Books form the mental 
treasury of the world. Without them we should be 
no wiser now than had we lived a hundred generations 
ago. By means of books we can look into the past as 
into a mirror, and perceive the tendencies and results 



192 KNOWLEDGE OF BOOKS. 

of human actions under every variety of circumstances. 
In them, as in a store-house, we can find the treasures 
of knowledge accumulated by the study and mental 
toil of ages past. Books are the vehicles and auxil- 
iaries of every species of knowledge. Books facilitate 
education, and the necessity of education increases 
with the multiplication of books. The fact that one 
person studies books makes it obligatory upon others 
to do the same. Thus, with increasing privileges, 
increased labor is devolved on humanity. In a com- 
munity of savages it would matter little whether an 
individual was taught letters or not. Though grossly 
ignorant, he might be as wise as his fellows. But 
in an enlightened community the lack of instruction, 
however great one's native powers, would doom him 
to perpetual inferiority. How pitiable, then, is the 
ignorance of one who has no knowledge of books ! In 
an age and in circumstances like ours, it can only 
be tolerated in childhood, followinsf which a score or 
more of years need to be devoted to the acquisition 
of knowledge largely through their instrumentality. 
How is it possible for an honest man to come before 
the public as a religious teacher and maintain at once 
his self-respect, and the respect of his hearers, without 
having acquired, in some reputable degree, a knovv'l- 
edge of books ? And yet the world of books is so vast- 
that no one man can fully traverse it. As the great- 
est geographers have only been able to pass over a 
small part of the earth's surface, and yet sufficient to 
enable them jointly to portray the continental divis- 
ions of the globe, so, in bibliography, it is easy and 
well to map out the great generic divisions of lit- 



CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS. 1 93 

erature which have been recognized by the best bib- 
liographers of successive generations. These are, i. 
Theology. 2. Jurisprudence. 3. Science and art. 4. 
History. 5. Belles-lettres. To each of these classes 
of books belong numerous subdivisions. For instance, 
in reference to education in the several departments, 
books are elementary, scientific, and professional. 
There are also, in every department, books for study, 
for reading, and for reference. Besides, each depart- 
ment and sub-department has its own bibliography, 
which, when augmented by the history of authors, 
becomes, in many cases, voluminous. 

These remarks are simply designed to suggest, in 
the briefest manner, the great but interesting task in 
reference to books, which, in the providence of God, 
is placed before every one who contemplates the posi- 
tion of a public religious teacher. Indeed, a large 
familiarity with books, in various other departments, 
is essentially necessary to what must ever be the great 
and binding duty of the Christian minister. 

4. An acquaintance with theology. God has com- 
mitted the revelation of the most important truth to 
books, and has thus imposed upon teachers of that 
truth the necessity of special study. To afidrm that a 
Christian minister should understand theology seems 
like the utterance of a truism. And yet theology is 
a subject of such vastness and depth that we may 
well hesitate to affirm that any human being under- 
stands it. After their best exertions and most pro- 
tracted efforts, the best minds are constrained to 
exclaim, " O the depth of the riches both of the 
wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable 

17 



194 



STUDY OF THEOLOGY, 



are his judgments, and his ways past finding out ! 
For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or who 
hath been his counselor?" Rom. xi, 33, 34. 

While this class of considerations should, on the 
one hand, teach us humility, on the other, it should 
stimulate within us the most ardent desire to know 
what is proper and possible of God, his attributes, his 
works, and his revealed will. When an embassador 
of a government goes forth to a foreign nation, he 
seeks and is entitled to receive instructions to enable 
him to rightly represent the views and interests of the 
sovereign or authority by which he is sent. So the 
embassador of Christ needs to be thoroughly in- 
structed in the things pertaining to the kingdom of 
God. The King eternal has provided that he may 
be thus instructed, and any neglect to secure such 
instruction must be his own, and withal a fearful one 
to answer for. 

Whoever would be successful in theological study 
should lay a timely and broad foundation of general 
knowledge, and secure a liberal and thorough disci- 
pline of his mental powers. The very nature of 
theological science demands the largest practicable 
preliminary culture. While the most essential truths 
of Christianity can be apprehended, so far as is essen- 
tial to salvation, by persons of the least ability, yet no 
one can hope to grasp the higher and ultimate truths 
which theology involves without much preliminary 
study. Besides, as the facts of science, history, and 
philosophy are merely the counterpart of revealed 
truth, they demand to be studied, as containing an 
illimitable fund of corroborations by which revealed 



DOCTRINAL AND HISTORICAL. 19$ 

truth may be confirmed and illustrated. An under- 
standing of theology, as it ought to be studied at the 
present day, will comprehend a due knowledge of the 
several departments into which the general subject is 
distributed, as the result of modern scholarship. 

1. Biblical theology demands primary attention. It 
involves an acquaintance with the original languages 
of the holy Scriptures ; the science of interpretation 
and criticism ; the history, character, and value of 
manuscripts ; a knowledge of the editions and ver- 
sions of the Bible ; an acquaintance with the works 
of the most able commentators, and the mode of ap- 
propriating the best results of their investigations 
with facility and judgment ; but, above all, the stu- 
dent, in this department, should covet, and if possible 
acquire, the capacity of making correct interpretations 
of Scripture, and judicious expositions of their deep- 
est meaning, both for himself, as a practical Christian, 
and for those who come under his instruction. 

2. Doctrinal theology is designed to state the re- 
sults of biblical or exegetical theology in a systematic 
form. It involves not only the positive statement of 
correct opinions, but the refutation of errors, and a 
historical knowledge of the rise of systems of doc- 
trine both true and false. Its principal departments 
are those of Natural and Revealed religion. Evidences 
and Polemics, including the great questions of philos- 
ophy and the refutation of heathen and infidel objec- 
tions to Christianity. 

3. Historical theology embraces the sacred history 
of the Old and New Testaments, and the detailed 
narrative of events resulting directly and indirectly 



196 PRACTICAL THEOLOGY. 

from the establishment of the Christian Church. 
Church history portrays the influence of Christian- 
ity upon the life and character of individuals, com- 
munities, and nations. It describes the rise and 
decline of heretical sects, the insidious entrance of 
error and corruption into the Church itself, and the 
ultimate progress of Christianity in spite of all op- 
posing and retarding influences. The history of the 
Church describes the rise of various systems of 
Church government, and the influence of Christianity 
upon civilization, upon the arts and sciences, upon 
education, legislation, slavery, war, and peace, and 
indeed upon whatever affects human weal or woe. 
It also develops a specially important and interesting 
phase in the history of missions, ancient, mediaeval, 
and modern, and of the various enterprises by which 
the Church is at present laboring for the amelioration 
of society and the conversion of the world. 

4. Practical theology involves a knowledge of the 
various theories of Church polity ; of the theory and 
administration of discipline ; of the form.s of worship ; 
of the history and use of liturgies ; of the agencies 
and details of all manner of Church enterprises ; of 
Catechetics, or the elements of Christian instruction ; 
of Homiletics, the science and art of Christian ad- 
dress ; and also of the multiplied duties and relations 
of the pastoral office. 

5. Skill in the modes and means of using knowl- 
edge. Over and above the intrinsic value of knowl- 
edge, and the pleasure it confers upon its possessor, 
a still higher value arises from its availability for 
practical results. As science ministers to the innu- 



TRAINING DEMANDED. 1 97 

merable utilities of life, and promotes human advan- 
tage in ten thousand forms, so knowledge, in the 
sphere of morals and religion, is designed to be an 
agency and a power for good. Hence the great rea- 
son why Christian pastors are called on to acquire 
large stores of knowledge is that they may use them 
for the objects of their ministry. Indeed, self-knowl- 
edge, a knowledge of society, a knowledge of books, 
and even an acquaintance with theology, are of little 
consequence as the personal accomplishments of a 
pastor, unless he knows how to employ them for the 
instruction and salvation of men. As wealth hoarded 
is valueless to communities, so hoarded knowledge 
confers scanty benefit upon its possessor, and still less 
upon society. 

From these principles it may be justly inferred, 
that the mere acquisition of knowledge is but a part — 
and, in fact, an inferior part — of education. The stu- 
dent needs to be trained to use with judgment, and to 
communicate with elegance and force, what he knows. 
He needs to become capable of sound reasoning, just 
comparison, free expression, and powerful persuasion, 
whether by voice or pen. Specially is this true in 
reference to ministers of the gospel, who, as public 
teachers, are nothing unless they are capable of com- 
municating truth and diffusing influence. To these 
objects, therefore, any good system of ministerial ed- 
ucation must specifically tend. Indeed, it is safe to 
affirm, that whatever system, in the highest degree, 
combines the development of the capacities referred 
to with the acquisition of ample and well-balanced 
stores of knowledge, is the most desirable for the 



198 KNOWLEDGE MUST BE WIELDED. 

Church and her ministers. While this is affirmed, 
it need not be denied that the modes of acquiring 
knowledge are various, and that knowledge acquired 
under difficulties is often made more available for 
practical results than that more easily attained. Many 
examples have proved the possibility of acquiring ex- 
tensive knowledge and great skill in its use, by per- 
sonal efforts, after an entrance upon ministerial duty, 
notwithstanding the embarrassment of inferior prepa- 
ration. It is probable, however, that many more cases 
of absolute and partial failure have occurred, while 
many of those that have succeeded best, in the cir- 
cumstances stated, have been decided in their convic- 
tions that there is a better way. 

Without here discussing questions that have been 
rendered obsolete by the progress of events, such 
as whether institutions for ministerial education are 
needed, or whether education in the ministry is not 
to be preferred to education for the ministry, it v/ill 
be assumed, in accordance with protracted experience, 
that absolute uniformity in the manner of acquiring 
knowledge, and the capacity of wielding it in the dis- 
charge of ministerial duty, is neither essential nor 
practicable. It will be claimed, moreover, that for 
objects so important, the best advantages, and all ad- 
vantages possible, are to be desired and sought for. 
What some may not attain, others may ; and with the 
greatest number of advantages there will be a suffi- 
cient number of failures. Let no one imagine that 
mere attendance upon a theological school will insure 
to him the needed qualifications ; and, on the other 
hand, let no one flatter himself that he is so talented 



THEORY AND PRACTICE SHOULD BE UNITED. 1 99 

that such an institution may not prove to be of inesti- 
mable advantage to him. Whoever reflects, will not 
fail to perceive that it is desirable to combine, as far 
as possible, the excellencies of institutional instruction 
with that personal experience only to be secured in 
the exercise of ministerial duty. In some instances, 
this combination may be secured during student-life. 
To the extent that such a combination is possible, it 
may be pronounced the most desirable of all condi- 
tions of ministerial preparation, and most like that in 
which our Lord taught his disciples, and gave them 
immediate opportunities of applying the knowledge 
they had acquired. Where this combination can not 
be secured, the desideratum next in order would be 
institutional study and training in advance, to be fol- 
lowed by responsible practice in due season. It is 
not possible that young men thrown upon their own 
resources, away from competent instruction, scantily 
supplied with the apparatus of study, and at the same 
time burdened with duty, should, as a general rule, be 
able to make large and well-balanced acquisitions of 
knowledge. There may be circumstances in which 
such a position should be accepted as the last alter- 
native between possible success and a certain aban- 
donment of duty. But at a period when the Church 
is offering the best of advantages for ministerial prep- 
aration to those of her sons who will profit by them, 
an undue haste to enter upon ministerial responsi- 
bility, without suitable preparation, deserves to be 
regarded as inexcusable presumption. 

It is at this point that ministers in official posi- 
tions, and also examining committees and confer- 



200 THE CHURCH SHOULD BE PROTECTED. 

ences, should be held sacredly bound to protect the 
Church against either the vanity, the irresolution, 
or the indolence which have hitherto so often bur- 
dened the ministry with incompetent candidates. 
The young man who at this day flatters himself or 
allows himself to be flattered into the idea that he 
does not need the accumulated advantages which 
institutions founded by the Church for the special 
object of enabling persons like him to acquire knowl- 
edge with greater ease and correctness, and to apply 
it with greater certainty of success, betrays a weak- 
ness — vide Prov. xxvi, 12; Romans xii, 16 — which, 
though of a different type, is scarcely more pardona- 
ble than the faint-heartedness which surrenders before 
obstacles, or the fondness of ease which prefers to 
lapse into matrimony or into indifference rather than 
to make manly and self-denying exertions for the 
accomplishment of a noble object. Opposite as such 
qualities seem, they are sometimes found in combina- 
tion. But, whether grouped or single, each one of 
them is a bad omen of ministerial success, and the 
Church will gain most by sternly rejecting candidates 
tainted with such objections, and by maintaining a 
standard that will make earnest and persevering ex- 
ertion to attain the necessary qualifications absolutely 
necessary to acceptance. 

The question now before the Church is not whether 
she shall have institutions for theological instruction 
and ministerial training, or whether those institutions 
shall be amply endowed, ably manned with instruct- 
ors, and watchfully guarded, but whether her young 
men shall be at liberty to treat the advantages oflered 



THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS, 201 

by such institutions with indifference, or required to 
profit by them. Not only ministers and conferences 
are entitled to a voice in determining this question, 
but Churches and people. However indulgent the 
latter may have been in the past, it is to be expected 
that in the future they will hold ministers to a high 
responsibility for improving or neglecting advantages 
proffered for their improvement. 

Contrary to the impressions of some, institutional 
education for the ministry is not a modern invention, 
however it may be a modern necessity. The appoint- 
ment of the prophetic office among the Jews was 
followed by the establishment of "schools of the 
prophets." One great feature of Christ's public life 
was its instructional character. From its beginning 
to its close the Great Teacher maintained a peripa- 
tetic school for the education of his disciples. The 
apostles, to some extent, imitated him in this. The 
schools of Alexandria and Antioch followed the apos- 
tolic age. The perversion and final extinction of such 
schools was followed by an age of mediaeval darkness 
and apostasy. Schools for the clergy gradually illu- 
minated and ultimately broke the midnight of the 
middle ages, and introduced the dawn of the Ref- 
ormation. Since the Reformation, every vitalized 
Church in Christendom has found, at a certain stage 
of its progress, the necessity of schools for its min- 
istry. This has been strictly true of Methodism in 
both England and America, and also in the larger 
foreign missions of the Churches of both countries. 

An agency so uniform in circumstances so very 
diverse is, in fact, founded upon a necessity of human 



202 HELPS TO PROGRESS. 

nature of which religion and the Church are by no 
means independent. As inventions and machinery 
that have the effect of saving time and money become 
indispensable, so institutions of learning of various 
grades are equally indispensable, for the same reason. 
As no man can afford to go on foot, or even to ride 
in a stage-coach, where he can go quicker by rail, 
and as no parent can afford to teach his child at 
home when he can send him to a good school, so no 
student can in these days afford the slow and toil- 
some process of self-education, when he can, by any 
reasonable efforts, secure the advantages of good 
institutional instruction. Yet the zeal and the appli- 
cation which sometimes secure success in self-educa- 
tion are scarcely less necessary to accomplish the 
best results of the greatest combination of advan- 
tages. In the most favored circumstances the mind 
must not rely so much upon its advantages as upon 
itself in the use of its advantages, endeavoring, with 
all possible diligence, to appropriate the benefits of 
severe tasks and regular drill. Especially should 
every student endeavor to form correct, profitable, 
and fixed habits of study before encountering the 
various obstacles of practical life which prove un- 
friendly to even the preservation of such habits. 

It will now be proper to remark that institutions 
devoted to the instruction and training of ministers 
of the gospel should not limit themselves to the rou- 
tine of school-boy instruction. While in all respects 
thorough and systematic, they should also encourage 
the broadest and highest self-development, mingling 
with theoretical instruction all those practical exer- 



CHARACTER DEFINED. 203 

cises which will illustrate the uses of sacred knowl- 
edge and promote skill in employing talent for the 
spiritual welfare of men. Specially should the best 
modes of communicating thought be matter of con- 
stant practice and thorough criticism, while the "art 
of putting things" at once honestly and forcibly, 
whether in conversation, in writing, or in public 
address, should by no means be overlooked. 

III. Character. The word character is derived 
directly from the Greek. The substantive Xapaxzrjp 
in that language primarily signified an instrument 
made for marking or graving. Secondarily it signi- 
fied the mark made upon an object, as the device or 
stamp upon a coin. Corresponding to these ideas, 
character in our language, as in most modern tongues, 
has a tw^ofold signification. Subjectively it means 
that aggregate of qualities by which a person is 
marked or known among men. These qualities are 
often the result, in whole or in part, of influences 
received from without. Objectively, character is that 
moral, intellectual, or physical instrumentality by 
which an individual makes his own peculiar mark on 
society. Thus in both senses John Howard acquired 
the character of a philanthropist, and Adam Clarke 
that of a scholar, while other persons have acquired 
character as authors, orators, and benefactors. 

As distinguis-hed from reputation, character depends 
upon personal qualities, reputation upon what others 
think or say of us. Reputation — from the Latin, 7'e- 
p7iio — has reference to the reflex opinion created by 
human actions in the minds of other men. A person 
sometimes gets a wide reputation by a single act. 



204 DIFFERENT PHASES. 

whereas character is predicated on the aggregate of 
a man's actions or influences through hfe or a period 
of Hfe. Reputation is sometimes good when the 
character is bad. Nevertheless, in a good state of 
society, and at the end of a sufficient time, reputa- 
tion usually becomes the measure of character. Cer- 
tainly, in a religious point of view, no reputation can 
long be maintained without the support of a good 
character. 

Character has different phases, and these phases 
may differ more or less in the same individual. Thus 
a person may hold positions in community in respect 
severally to his own religious, social, scholastic, or 
professional character. As a minister of the gospel 
the same person may have a somewhat different chai- 
acter as a preacher and as a pastor. Character is 
important to all men, but most of all to ministers of 
the gospel. Their great business is to renovate and 
improve the characters of other men. Hence it is 
indispensably necessary that they be examples of 
what they teach. All Christian Churches attach a 
high importance to character, and pre-eminently 
Methodist Churches give prominent and constant 
attention to it. In this view they enjoin a probation 
of six months prior to full membership in the Church, 
and two years ministerial probation before full recep- 
tion into conference. Ministerial probation is then 
extended two years more prior to ordination as elders, 
while even thereafter an annual examination of char- 
acter is still maintained in open conference. The close 
examinations of character instituted by Mr. Wesley 
have been perpetuated, with slight modifications, in 



MINISTERIAL STANDARD. 20 5 

the various branches of Methodism. One of the 
standing records of an annual conference is : " Ques. 
Were all the preachers' characters examined? Ans. 
This was strictly attended to by calling over their 
names before the conference." In the case of confer- 
ence probationers various aspects of character are can- 
vassed up to the time when each individual is believed 
to have established a ministerial reputation, after 
which the examination involves specially his moral and 
official character, by challenging any possible objec- 
tion against either. It is conceded that a minister's 
character may present somewhat different aspects 
when regarded from an ecclesiastical or a popular 
stand-point. Every minister is subject to both views, 
and ought to be prepared to pass the proper tests 
from either view. It would be a serious mistake for 
young ministers to imagine that they can treat the 
judgments of their clerical brethren with indiffer- 
ence on the ground of a successful appeal to popular 
approbation. The truth is that Churches and com- 
munities usually and justly regard ministerial bodies 
as specially responsible to guard the purity of their 
own organic character by a just surveillance of each 
individual involved in it, and generally a minister's 
reputation among his associate ministers hinges 
largely upon his usefulness among the people under 
his charge. 

In viewing character in the liglit of ministerial 
responsibility and efficiency, we can, in fact, overlook 
none of those points of contact at which the preacher 
or pastor touches society, whether in his public or pri- 
vate capacity. All such points become developments, 



206 STUDY OF CHARACTER. 

if not indices of the internal life of the individual. 
Making due allowance for natural peculiarities, we 
may nevertheless see that in a most important sense 
"every man is the architect of his own character." 
A man may be born with peculiar tendencies, but 
his character will depend upon the control he exer- 
cises over them ; and, as many of our natural tenden- 
cies are evil, human character, in order to a perfect 
development, requires large and constant influence 
from divine grace. 

In order to the successful development both of 
An exalted Christian and ministerial character every 
ideal. young or intending minister should form 

to himself an exalted ideal of character, and make 
ceaseless efforts to realize that ideal in his own life 
and actions. In the attempted realization of character 
no narrow views should be tolerated, but the subject 
should be studied in its broadest aspects, from the 
examples portrayed in the holy Scriptures down 
through history and biography to the range of each 
one's personal observation. 

Fletcher's "Portrait of St. Paul" is a fine example 
of the delineation of apostolic character with reference 
to the circumstances of the age in which the writer 
lived. Indeed, it well deserves to be studied at the 
present time, in consideration of its rare ability and 
discrimination in developing for imitation the nicest 
shades of pastoral character, while its reprobation of 
opposite and contrasted traits is trenchant and often 
withering. Note an example: 

"The minister of the present age is but seldom engaged in 
publishing to his people the truths of the gospel, and still more 



APOSTOLIC EXAMPLE. 20/ 

rarely in supplicating for them the possession of those blessings 
which the gospel proposes. It is chiefly before men that he lifts 
up his hands and affects to pour out a prayer from the fullness 
of his heart, while the true minister divides his time between 
the two important and refreshing occupations of preaching and 
prayer, by the former making a public offer of divine grace to 
his hearers, and by the latter soliciting for them in secret the 
experience of that grace. Such was the manner of the blessed 
Jesus himself, who, after having reproved his disciples for the 
low degree of their faith, retired either into gardens or upon 
mountains, praying that their ' faith might not fail.' The good 
pastor, who constantly imitates the example of his divine Mas- 
ter, is prepared to adopt the language of St. Paul in addressing 
the flock upon which he is immediately appointed to attend. 
See Eph. iii, 14-19 ; Phil, i, 9-1 1. By prayers like these the apos- 
tle Paul was accustomed to water, without ceasing, the heavenly 
seed which he had so widely scattered through the vineyard of 
his Lord, manifesting an increasing attachment to those among 
whom he had at any time pubhshed the tidings of salvation, and 
breathing out, in all his epistles to distant Churches, the most 
earnest desire that God would 'fulfill' in them 'all the good 
pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power ; 
that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ might be glorified in 
them, and they in him.' 2 Thess. i, 11, 12. 

"Pastors who pray thus for their flocks pray not in vain. 
Their fervent petitions are heard, sinners are converted, the faith- 
ful are edified, and thanksgiving is shortly joined to supplication. 
Thus the same apostle : ' I thank my God always on your behalf 
for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ : that in 
every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all 
knowledge.' i Cor. i, 4-7. ' Having heard of your faith in the 
Lord Jesus, and your love unto all the saints, I cease not to give 
thanks for you.' Eph. i, 15, 16. 

"Worldly ministers have no experience of the holy joy (hat 
accompanies these secret sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. 
But this can by no means be considered as matter of astonish- 
ment. Is their attachment to Christ as sincere as that of his 
faithful ministers ? Are they as solicitous for the salvation of 
their hearers ? Do they teach and preach with equal zeal ? Uo 
they pray with the same ardor and perseverance ?"* 

* Fletcher's Works, Vol. Ill, pp. 53, 54. 



208 SCRIPTURAL CHARACTERS. 

Taking Fletcher's "Portrait" as a model, except 
as to its length, every minister may profitably study 
and discuss with more or less detail the character of 
any, and, indeed, of many of the leading Scripture 
worthies, selecting at least representative examples 
of the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. But most 
of all will the preacher and pastor be profited by 
studying minutely and developing fully the ministe- 
rial character of Christ, that great Shepherd of the 
true flock of God. 

The study of Scriptural characters may be appro- 
priately supplemented by the perusal of select and 
standard biographies of distinguished ministers, and 
of those authors on Church history who Ijave exhib- 
ited fidelity and skill in portraitures of the leading 
men of successive periods.* 

But aside from this class of studies, and also from 
that personal observation which every one should 
make upon the great and useful men of his own 
times, there is an important and ever-available field 
for study and meditation in the contemplation and 
development of those various moral and social quali- 
ties which enter as important factors into the forma- 
tion of superior character. Such qualities may be 
conveniently considered as belonging to the following 
classes: i. Personal traits. 2. Religious characteris- 

* Plutarch's Lives form a standard example of the graphic delinea- 
tion of characters by comparison and contrast. Modern literature 
might be improved by more frequent imitations of that kind of writing. 
For good examples of the portraiture of character in historic narratives 
see SchafT's Church History and Stevens's History of Methodism. 
Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit constitute of themselves a 
most valuable store-house of ^Yell'prepared clerical biography. 



AMIABILITY. 209 

tics. 3. Habits or modes of action. A few repre- 
sentative qualities of each class may be briefly noticed 
as essential to pastoral character. 

A. Personal Traits. 

Of these amiability may be considered primary. 
Who would choose, or even consent, to accept an un- 
amiable pastor } Goodness and gentleness are among 
the fruits of the Spirit, and consequently essential to 
Christian character. They seldom, if ever, fail to 
attract the affection of all who see them manifested. 
As a prime object of true religion is to promote 
moral goodness in human hearts and lives, the teacher 
of religion who fails to give an example of that char- 
acteristic in all his words and actions, must be con- 
sidered deficient in one of the first essentials of 
pastoral success. Attraction, and not repulsion, is 
the law of Christian influence. Amiability always 
attracts ; children feel its power, and the aged are not 
insensible to its charms. The high and the low are 
alike susceptible of its impressions. 

Amiability is natural to some ; it may be cultivated 
by all. Amiability makes its possessor approach- 
able — accessible to all, and equally facilitates his ac- 
cess to others. It has no frowns for the diffident and 
self-reproachful, but it sets at ease those who are 
embarrassed. In short, amiability wins — wins favor, 
wins respect, wins affection, wins hearts, and must 
be regarded as an important instrumentality of win- 
ning souls to Christ. But amiability must not be 
allowed to descend into simplicity, and thus become 
a weakness. It must be supported by other essential 
qualities, from which it will derive strength ; while to 



210 DIGNITY. 

them it will impart attractive charms. Especially 
should amiability be supported by dignity. 

True DIGNITY must dwell in the soul, and be incor- 
porated in the character of him who would manifest 
it. It can not be put on and off like a garment. It 
does not consist in pretension, nor in affectation, 
either of personal or of clerical consequence. It is 
less compatible with pride of position and haughti- 
ness of spirit than with humility and meekness. It 
is not conferred by wealth or circumstances. It may 
exist in poverty and deep affliction. Dignity of char- 
acter is opposed to meanness of spirit. It does not 
descend to low words or trivial actions. It is culti- 
vated by cherishing elevated thoughts and noble 
aspirations. It does not let down the standard of 
manhood by yielding to selfish impulses. It does not 
seek to exalt its possessor by depressing others — nor 
by affecting contempt for just conventionalisms and 
established usages. On the other hand, it honors 
itself by a just respect for all good men, and by 
cherishing the most favorable and hopeful views of 
humanity. True human dignity is based upon the 
immortality of man — a being created in the image of 
God — sinful, indeed, but a subject of redemption, and 
a candidate for immortal honor in the world to come. 
In the light of such a position and possible destiny it 
becomes every individual to ask himself, What is 
worthy of me, in respect to my time, my talents, my 
actions } The rehgion of the gospel is conducive to 
the truest and highest dignity. Every Christian is 
required to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith he 
is called, and of the Savior, who has called him to be 



A CHRISTIAN STANDARD. 2 1 1 

an heir of grace and of glory. Ministers must be 
capable of teaching both the principles and practice 
of Christian dignity. Their circumstances and asso- 
ciations are favorable to its attainment in their own 
character. The gravity of the gospel message, the 
responsibility of every ministerial act, the eternal 
consequences pending on the right and faithful dis- 
charge of duty are so many considerations constantly 
appealing to them to maintain a character and con- 
duct worthy of their divine Master. Without per- 
sonal dignity it is impossible to secure lasting re- 
spect for one^s ministry, or to maintain influence 
over men. Important as this quality is, it can not 
exist alone. It must be rooted and grounded in other 
great essentials of Christian and ministerial charac- 
ter. Hence it has well been said of the true and 
worthy minister : 

" His is the dignity of holiness — of moral purity — of death to 
the world. It is the dignity of faith ; he beheves God, and is 
not ashamed. It is the dignity of love ; God is the center of 
his soul, and he loves his neighbor as himself. It is the dignity 
of hope — for his is the hope of glory. It is the dignity of action ; 
he lives to save the souls of men. It is the dignity of relation ; 
he is a child of God. It is the dignity of prospect; he is an 
heir of heaven. It is the dignity of station, for he is an embas- 
sador of the King of kings ; the dignity of knowledge, for be 
knows the only living and true God, and Jesus Christ whom he 
has sent; the dignity of rank — his crown awaits him; the ch'g- 
nity of safety — angels encamp around him ; the dignity of hap- 
piness — God is his portion ; and the dignity of permanence — 
he shall never be moved."* 

This principle must not only be possessed, but 
exhibited — made known by its fruits, in personal 

* Dr. C. Adams, in Mi)iistcr for the Times. 



212 DISCRETION. 

demeanor, in dress, in language, in actions, and in 
all the engagements and conduct of life. 

Among the essential qualities of pastoral character, 
it is scarcely possible to give too prominent a place to 
DiscRETiox. Discretion is practical wisdom. Learn- 
ing is not sure to confer it. Discretion is less de- 
pendent on a large degree of knowledge than upon 
the disposition and ability to use the knowledge one 
possesses for wise purposes. And yet the more 
knowledge one has, the higher discretion he may be 
expected to manifest, provided he is controlled b}* a 
pure moral purpose. From the same Latin root {dis- 
ceriid) we also have the word discernment ; and dis- 
cernment may be considered the primar}' idea, the 
invariable precursor of discretion. Discretion is alike 
demanded in small matters and in great. The Script- 
ures illustrate its importance. In one instance, dis- 
cretion is spoken of as an active attribute of the 
Creator himself " He hath made the earth by his 
power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, 
and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. 
Jer. X, 12. Again, God is represented as the great 
giver or teacher of discretion to men. " For his God 
doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him."' 
Isa. xxvdii, 26. 

The uses and importance of discretion are illus- 
trated in various passages of the sacred writings. 
" The discretion of a man deferreth his anger.'*' Prov. 
xix, II. "As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so 
is a fair woman which is without discretion." xi, 22. 
" When ^\dsdom entereth into thy heart, and knowl- 
edge is pleasant unto thy soul ; discretion shall 



DISCRETION A RELIGIOUS DUTY. 213 

preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee." ii, 10, 
II. "A good man showeth favor, and lendeth : he 
will guide his affairs with discretion." Ps. cxii, 5. 

Our Savior commended discretion as a most im- 
portant characteristic of the wise scribe. " When 
Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto 
him, thou art not far from the kingdom of God." 
Mark xiii, 34. The apostle Paul, also, in addition to 
the practical discretion which, in so many forms, he 
enjoined upon Timothy and Titus, commanded the 
latter to make discretion a special subject of pastoral 
instruction ; " young men likewise exhort to be dis- 
creet." Titus ii, 6. 

Discretion is important to pastors, not only in their 
general intercourse with society, but especially in 
their private and personal endeavors to win souls to 
Christ. Next to the importance of knowing what to 
say, is that of knowing when and how to say it. It 
is doubtless with reference to the value of discretion 
in speech that the wise man says, "A word fitly 
spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." 
Discretion enjoins upon ministers, in all circum- 
stances, respectful attention to the proprieties of so- 
cial life. It, moreover, suggests timely and suitable 
modes of presenting moral and religious truth to the 
hearts and consciences of men. 

Discretion is an indispensable auxiliary to the 
proper discharge of public pastoral duties ; for in- 
stance, in the control of popular assemblies, whether 
as a speaker or as a presiding officer. In preaching, 
it suggests the right subjects at the right time, and 
also the best mode of treating them. Not least is it 



214 DISCRETION NEEDED IN SOCIETY. 

useful in determining when and to what extent to 
engage in controversies, and when to avoid them alto- 
gether. Controversies, indiscreetly opened or badly 
managed, have often contributed to the propagation 
of error ; whereas, ably conducted, and at the right 
time, they have been the means of effectually banish- 
ing error and strange doctrine. 

Discretion is constantly needed in the administra- 
tion of the affairs of a Church ; in the arrangement 
and conduct of public services, in the advice to be 
given to penitents and converts, in the appointment 
of officers, in the settlement of difficulties, and in the 
administration of discipline. 

The possession of great talent, as a scholar or an 
orator, but poorly atones for a lack of discretion. On 
the other hand, it sometimes heightens the public 
perception of the deficiency by a glaring contrast. 
Indiscretion in a pastor forfeits the confidence a com- 
munity might be disposed to place in him, and conse- 
quently destroys his influence, and jeopards the most 
sacred interests of a Church. How often has Zion 
been made to mourn and her solemn feasts to lan- 
guish from this cause ! Whatever inconvenience or 
distress any minister may personally suffer from an 
act of indiscretion, ought to be regarded by him as 
very little, compared with the calamity of bringing 
reproach upon the cause of Christ, and thereby hin- 
dering the spread of truth and the salvation of men. 
In view of such a possibility, how earnestly ought 
every one invested with the sacred office to seek that 
wisdom that cometh down from God as an ever- 
guiding element of his character ! 



DEFINITE AIMS. 215 

Definiteness of aim is highly essential to minis- 
terial success, and should consequently be embodied 
in a pastor's character. Nothing so tends to habitual 
inefficiency as vagueness of thought and purpose. 
The failures it causes are innumerable. To it may 
be attributed idle prayers, powerless sermons, profit- 
less visits, and wasted opportunities. Important re- 
sults do not come by chance. As dependent on 
human instrumentality, they must pre-exist in the 
conception, in the desire, and in the determination 
of him who would bring them to pass. 

A pastor who comprehends his calling and his re- 
sponsibility sees himself environed with objects desir- 
able to be realized. He must not be confused with 
their number, nor overwhelmed with their magnitude. 
He must be able to conceive of each one separately, 
and in its proper relations ; to fix his thoughts clearly 
upon the means necessary to its realization, whether 
immediate or remote. This principle is alike appli- 
cable to those grand measures which require years 
for their consummation, and to the minute details 
which, in their proper order, are essential to ultimate 
success. Thus, no pastor should content himself 
with the mere consciousness that he desires to pro- 
mote the prosperity of his Church. He should also 
comprehend clearly the various elements which must 
be combined to create that prosperity and the agen- 
cies by which they may be severally promoted. To 
attempt to reap where seed has not been sown, or to 
gather fruits at the season of blossoms, is scarcely 
more ill-judged than to expect the fruits of Christian 
living without previous instruction in religious truth, 



2 1 6 IMPAR TIALITY. 

or to imagine that a Church can be prosperous as a 
whole, while the individual members are worldly, and 
neglectful of their Christian obligations. As in war 
the grandest results hinge on minute details, it is 
scarcely less so in pastoral life. Hence the pastor 
who would organize success, must plan with judgment 
and thoroughness, and execute with scrupulous care 
and definite purpose whatever tends to promote the 
spiritual welfare of any individual child or member of 
his flock, as well as of the aggregated whole, both for 
the present and the future. 

Impartiality. While the pastor, as a man, can 
not be expected to be free from personal preferences 
or to disown congenial attachments, yet, as a guard- 
ian of souls, he must maintain a faithful and impar- 
tial interest in all who are committed to his care. 
To be assiduous in attentions to the rich or the 
learned and the good, and at the same time neglect- 
ful of the poor, the afflicted, the ignorant, and the 
fro ward, is not only to be sure of exciting prejudices 
very unfriendly to pastoral success, but to be guilty 
of an indiscretion both weak and sinful. The sure 
remedy against such a course is to appreciate man 
as man, and the souls of all men as immortal, and 
deserving the most earnest efforts to save them from 
sin and to elevate them into the favor and moral 
image of God. This Christian sentiment may be so 
concreted into the moral and social being of a min- 
ister,- and so manifested in his life, that he will be 
every-where recognized as equally the friend of the 
high and the low, the rich and the poor, and equally 
able to minister to the happiness and the salvation 



INDEPENDENCE. 2 1 7 

of all. This quality of character blends admirably 
with several important traits of a somewhat different 
type ; in fact, it is a very necessary counterpart of 
independence, decision, and firmness of character. 

Independence is a highly popular trait of character. 
All wish to be thought possessed of it ; comparatively 
few really are. Some so widely mistake its nature as 
to suppose that it consists in singularity, or in the 
persistent habit of differing from other men. True 
independence harmonizes with a just respect for other 
men, and a loyal conformity to the usages of society 
and the restraints of government, whether in Church 
or state. Independent thinking is the basis of a true 
independence of character, and for this God designed 
all men in giving them minds of their own. But 
there is a wide difference between a capacity of 
abstract thought and that of forming prompt and 
correct practical judgments. In the course of life 
new combinations are perpetually arising. In emer- 
gencies some men have always to look to others for 
guidance. The man of independent judgment can 
act for himself and also for others. A pastor should 
always be able to do this. True independence does 
not disdain to seek appropriate counsel nor to observe 
carefully the grounds, tendencies, and consequences 
of actions, but nevertheless is ready, at the proper 
time, to act in the light of intelligent conviction, with 
others if it can, alone if it must. At this point inde- 
pendence blends with decision, a much lauded, but 
often misconceived and perverted trait of character. 
Apart from a strict following of the right, decision is 
no virtue. Following wrong, it is evil and only evil 

19 



2I8 DECISION, 

continually. Neither independence nor firmness have 
in themselves any moral character. They are hence 
only to be commended when under the influence of 
enlightened conscience and correct judgment. These 
a Christian pastor may always be supposed to have, 
and, having them, he needs decision to profit by their 
dictates, and firmness to prevent being swayed firom 
the course they mark out for his steps. 

Decision of character has two important elements. 
The first is promptness of determination, the second 
persistence in action. .The first is often simulated by 
rashness, the second by stubbornness, whereas true 
decision is equally removed from both. It is neither 
precipitate nor vacillating. Supported by a clear 
judgment, it pursues an unwavering course, neither 
turning aside for obstacles nor yielding to discour- 
agement. Nevertheless, when clearer light or deeper 
reflection shows a former course or opinion to be 
erroneous, decision forsakes it and adopts the right, 
without fear of reproach. In mixed communities, and 
amid conflicting interests and opinions, influences are 
often brought to bear upon pastors which embarrass 
their actions, and tend strongly to divert them from 
the courses duty marks out. To be alarmed by 
clamor, to be swayed by sympathy, or to be sub- 
merged in a vortex of popular excitement, is alike 
unworthy of the intelligence and the moral stamina 
of a leader in the Christian Church. Firmness in 
the right is therefore to be commended as a virtue 
indispensable to the attainment of substantial and 
permanent influence in the pastoral office. 

Energy. The numerous and arduous duties of 



ENERGY. 



219 



the pastorate will be but poorly discharged without 
energy of character. Whoever is feeble of purpose 
or intermittent in his zeal gives but small promise of 
success in a sphere of duty that demands sleepless 
vigilance, untiring industry, and self-sacrificing toil. 
The term is from the Greek Evspyiu)^ t^epyuq, signifying 
inward working. Energy, however, is not a mere 
mental fermentation, self-exhaustive and inoperative 
without. It is rather an inward working toward an 
outward end. It is properly consummated only in 
positive results. The same word, but little varied 
from its original form, is found in all the most im- 
portant modern languages, having the twofold sig- 
nificance of intellectual and physical activity. In a 
primary sense energy lies wholly in the mind, but 
the mind, acting upon matter, creates -physical power, 
which sometimes acts on after the originating mind 
has passed away. Thus the mind of a Watt and a 
Fulton may be said to be acting to-day through the 
myriad steam-engines that form the motive power of 
the world. So the moral energy of the apostles and 
the reformers of successive periods pulsates still in the 
breasts of millions, who in turn become propagators 
of the sacred impulse. Energy, as developed in char- 
acter, demands a union of activity and force. Its 
characteristics are vigor of movement as opposed to 
languor, strength of will as opposed to irresolution, 
and power as opposed to inefficiency. Its opposites 
are inertness, indolence, feebleness. Energy rises 
early and commences work. Indolence folds the 
hands together and says, a little more sleep. Hav- 
ing risen, it procrastinates, wasting time and wearying 



220 MOTIVE POWER. 

itself with inaction. Energy meets difficulties and 
conquers them. Indolence says "there is a lion in 
the way." Examples of energy are found in all great 
men and successful ministers. While men are differ- 
ently endowed both with physical and mental energy, 
yet both may be cultivated and strengthened. En- 
ergy may be promoted by conceiving rightly of its 
own importance, by cherishing lofty and soul-stirring 
motives, and by putting forth strenuous efforts until 
energetic action becomes habitual. 

Energy measures the motive power of every aggress- 
ive Christian, and especially of every minister of the 
gospel. Energy is demanded in preaching. Ener- 
getic thought needs to elaborate the matter of a dis- 
course, and energy of soul needs to flow out through 
all its delivery. Energy is necessary to a timely and 
efficient discharge of all pastoral duties, specially in 
maintaining, amidst the pressure of other cares and 
responsibilities, personal efforts for the salvation of 
individuals. Without energy in a pastor the various 
benevolent enterprises of a Church are sure to lan- 
guish, if not to die out, whereas pastoral energy will 
infuse into them life, order, and power. 

Energy should not be spasmodic or intermittent; 
hence it needs to be regulated and sustained by per- 
severance. Perseverance, as a trait of character, 
implies both the purpose and habit of continuance 
in whatever one undertakes. Continuance in given 
courses may result from mere habit, and persistence 
may be manifested in particular actions or courses of 
action. Perseverance occupies a broader field, and 
results from the exercise of a nobler class of faculties. 



PERSE VERA NCE. 2 2 1 

Like other personal characteristics already noticed, 
perseverance is susceptible of opposite applications. 
Perseverance in evil is a flagrant sin which adds 
enormity to other sins. Perseverance in goodness 
and virtuous effort increases and adorns every other 
excellence of character. From this point of view 
appears its great importance in the character of a 
pastor. He labors not merely for immediate results, 
but for issues reaching into the long future, and tak- 
ing hold upon eternity. In this toil he must walk 
by faith, and not by sight. Hence, however distant 
the realization of his hope, neither his faith nor his 
efforts must be allowed to fail. Perseverance is nec- 
essary in constant endeavors for personal improve- 
ment, to make progress in knowledge and in holiness, 
as well as in maintaining the full routine of public 
duty. It is specially important in periods of religious 
declension, and amidst oppositions and discourage- 
ments of every kind. Perseverance is enjoined in the 
Scriptures as an essential element of a religious life. 
" He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall 
be saved." Matt, xxiv, 13. "Be thou faithful- unto 
death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Rev. x, 
2. On the other hand, the lack of perseverance is 
rebuked as the precursor of fatal apostasy. *'Ye did 
run well ; who did hinder you, that ye should not 
obey the truth .?" Gal. v, 7. Indeed, the lack of per- 
severance detracts from every conceivable excellence 
of character. It tends to vacillation, instability, and 
unreliability. It forfeits self-respect, and renders a 
man incapable of securing the high respect of others. 
Some pastors waver and hesitate in well-doing, and 



222 ANCIENT MOTTO. 

some even abandon the best of measures through 
faint-heartedness or despondency. Hence courage 
and HOPEFULNESS should be cultivated as of indis- 
pensable value to the leader of a spiritual host. 

All men, unless morbidly despondent, are hopeful 
when the tide of prosperity is running high. But that 
tide, like the tides of the ocean, has its ebb. Unva- 
rying prosperity can not be expected in any of the 
relations of this life. Although it may not be possi- 
ble to foresee in what form difficulties or disasters 
may be encountered, yet it is safe to be prepared 
for them at any time and in any form. Whether, 
therefore, from the oppositions of the world, the flesh, 
or the devil, a Church or a minister is involved in 
serious trial, it becomes the latter, especially, to bear 
up under the difficulties of the situation with a manly 
heart and a confident trust in God's promises. The 
pastor should at all times be true to his convictions 
of the power of truth and of the ultimate triumph of 
the gospel. Stu'stmi corda was a glorious motto of 
the early Church which should never be allowed to 
become obsolete. As in military struggles calm cour- 
age and hopefulness in a leader have often wrung 
victory out of the jaws of defeat, so in the battles of 
the Christian life a strong heart has often won tri- 
umph Avhere discomfiture seemed inevitable. As in 
an army cowardice or courage in leaders becomes 
contagious in the ranks, so in the Church a faint- 
hearted pastor often unconsciously and undesignedly 
diffuses among the whole membershiiD his own pusil- 
lanimous fears, while a pastor possessed of high moral 
courage inspires those who surround him with such 



HOPE CONQUERS. 223 

hopefulness and energy as not only prevent disaster, 
but secure success. 

The word of God is full of exhortation and the 
Christian religion full of aid for the development of 
courage and hopefulness. Moses was instructed to 
command Israel in these words prior to their entrance 
into the land of promise: "Be strong and of a good 
courage, fear not nor be afraid of them, for the Lord 
thy God, he it is that doth go with thee ; he will not 
leave thee nor forsake thee." Deut. xxxi, 6. Joshua, 
as the leader of the chosen people, was exhorted in 
similar language, which may properly be considered 
as God's command to every leader of his spiritual 
host : '* Be thou strong and very courageous. 
Have not I commanded thee.? Be strong and of a 
good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dis- 
mayed ; for the Lord thy God is with thee whither- 
soever thou goest." Joshua i, 7, 9. The Psalms of 
David make the same idea prominent: "Be of good 
courage and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye 
that hope in the Lord." Psalm xxxi, 24. "Wait on 
the Lord : be of good courage and he shall strengthen 
thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." xxvii, 14. In 
the forty-second and forty-third Psalms the following 
rebuke and remedy against despondency is thrice re- 
corded: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and 
why art thou disquieted in me.? Hope thou in God, 
who is the health of my countenance and my God." 
Even the weeping prophet Jeremiah, "the man that 
had seen affliction by the rod of his wrath," could 
sing, "The Lord is my portion, therefore will I hope 
in him. . . . It is a good thing that a man should 



224 HOPEFULNESS OF PETER AND PAUL. 

both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the 
Lord." Lam. iii, 24, 26. The lives of the apostles 
were filled with examples of the courage and hopeful- 
ness inculcated and demanded by the spirit of Chris- 
tianity. Witness the boldness of Peter and" the other 
apostles who, having been cast into prison and straitly 
commanded that they should not teach in the name 
of Jesus, nevertheless proceeded to fill Jerusalem with 
their doctrine, answering, when again arraigned by 
their persecutors, " We ought to obey God rather than 
men." Acts v, 29. The motto of Peter's life is given 
in his exhortation to the members of the general 
Church : " Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, 
and hope, to the end." i Peter i, 13. 

Paul was also a model of courage and hopefulness, 
yielding to no discouragement, however severe the 
trials to Avhich he was subjected, or however stern the 
oppositions he was called to encounter. Witness his 
defense when arraigned before kings and governors, 
and also the cheerful tone pervading his communica- 
tions to his brethren, whether by word or pen. " And 
now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, 
not knowing the things that shall befall me there : 
save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every cit}^ 
saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none 
of these things move me, neither count I my life dear 
unto myself, so that I might finish my course with 
joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the 
Lord Jesus." Acts xx, 22-24. " Therefore, seeing 
we have received this ministry, as we have received 
mercy, we faint not. . . . We are troubled on every 
side, yet not distressed ; we are perplexed, but not in 



HE A VENL Y-MINDEDNESS. 225 

despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but 
not destroyed." 2 Cor. iv, i, 8, 9. " Thou, therefore, 
my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ 
Jesus." '' Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus 
Christ." 2 Tim. ii, i, 3. "Watch thou in all things, 
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make 
full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be 
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. . , . 
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall 
give me at that day : and not to me only, but unto all 
them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. iv, 5-8. 
Let all pastors who would maintain an apostolic min- 
istry in the Church, cultivate the magnanimous spirit 
and the undaunted hopefulness of which the apostles 
gave so glorious an example. 

B. Religious qualities of character. 

Let us now consider some of those religious char- 
acteristics which are essential to a well-formed pas- 
toral character. Not to discuss religious experience 
in general, it may be remarked that the Christian 
minister should be eminently a devout man. 

Heavenly-mindedness is essential to the influ- 
ences most of all important for a pastor to exert. It 
is not merely desirable that a religious teacher be 
dignified, serious, and thoughtful, but he should be 
able to say with the apostle, " Our conversation is in 
heaven ;" and to illustrate the saying in all his inter- 
course with the people. " Out of the fullness of the 
heart the mouth speaketh ;" and when a minister of 
the gospel becomes engrossed with worldly concerns, 
or delights in the trivialities which occupy worldly 



226 A PASTOR'S AFFECTION. 

minds, he is but poorly fitted to "point men to 
heaven, and lead the way." On the other hand, when 
the concerns of this life appear to one in their true 
light, only important in reference to their bearings on 
the world to come, he has a primary and much-to-be- 
desired preparation to discourse to men, both in pri- 
vate and in public, for the purpose of promoting the 
welfare of their souls. Such a man's presence in any 
company seems to be surrounded with the atmosphere 
of a better world, while he equally attracts by his 
example, and wins by his fitting words. 

Love. No man can be a true pastor unless he has 
a deep and genuine experience of Christian love. The 
shepherd of souls should love God with all his heart, 
and his neighbor as himself Love then will become 
to him the fulfilling of the law. It will at once sug- 
gest to him his duties, and aid him in their discharge. 

" Success in soul-saving requires a warm heart ; eminent suc- 
cess, a hot heart. Icebergs are not to be melted by moonbeams. 
Many other desirable qualifications may be dispensed with, but 
genuine, spontaneous, abiding warmth of soul toward the Savior 
and toward the sinner there must be, or a man can not be a 
successful Christian worker. Without this the most eminent 
endowments only make failure the more disgraceful. 

" It seems almost impossible for some Christians to get rid 
of the notion that spiritual results can be secured by methods 
merely material and intellectual. Given money and brains, and 
it is often assumed you have force enough to run a moral reform, 
a Sunday-school, or even a Church. The rebuking voice of the 
Almighty sounds forth, ' Not by might nor by power, but by my 
spirit,' and that spirit works on the ungodly mainly through the 
medium of the hearts which have alread}' felt its transforming 
power. The most magnificent floating palace ever built is but a 
cumbrous hulk, utterly useless for the single purpose of its con- 
struction until its fires are kindled, and its heart throbs, and its 
timbers quiver from stem to stern with the pulses of almighty life. 



CONSTRAINING LOVE. 22/ 

"There is no possible substitute for a heart aflame. Brill- 
iancy may dazzle, but it takes heat to kindle. Chalmers preached 
for thirteen years before his conversion with a keenness of logic, 
a splendor of rhetoric, and a majesty of eloquence unsurpassed 
and rarely rivaled, but he afterward publicly confessed that dur- 
ing all that time his ministry not only failed to lead any one to a 
saving acquaintance with Jesus, but that, so far as he could learn, 
it had 'not the weight of a feather upon the moral habits ' of his 
parishioners. John Wesley's early ministrations in England and 
America were of small account, but when, through the influence 
of the Moravians, his 'heart was st7'angely waimed^^ God gave 
him a tongue of fire, and the scenes of the Pentecost were re- 
enacted. 

."An almost passionate devotion to the work of saving men 
seems to be the indispensable condition of abundant harvest- 
ing. John Knox was wont to cry, ' Give me Scotland or I die !' 
Whitefield would often pray, ' O Lord, give me souls or take my 
soul !' Emmons had unutterable groanings over sinners. Con- 
cerning one such season he writes: 'The agonies of that hour 
can never be told ; I verily thought I should have died.' When 
the burning soul of Paul had been pursuing its orbit among the 
nations for thirty years, driven by some unseen power, and leav- 
ing a trail of glory every-where, he gave the rationale of his sub- 
lime career in six words : ' The love of Christ constraineth me.' 
The world knows what came of these furnace-heats in great 
souls. The conquests of the Church have been won and the 
history of the nations molded by them. They avouch the truth 
so well uttered by Lyman Beecher : ' The power of the heart set 
on fire by love is the greatest created power in the universe.' 

"But we need not limit either the instruction or the encour- 
agement of this theme by applying them solely to stars of the 
first magnitude. The tiniest taper that glimmers in a hovel is 
subject to the same conditions of shining as the sun itself 
Grace is like nature in the universal sweep of its laws. A heart 
on fire with love to Jesus and love to men is just as sure to win 
some trophies for the Master through the pathetic pleadings 
of an illiterate Carvosso as by the inimitable eloquence of a 
Summerfield. Many a minister, a prayer-leader, Sunda3--school 
teacher, or private Christian of no more than ordinary capacity 
might enter a career of extraordinary usefulness by securing the 
baptism of the Holy Ghost. He would find it to be 'power 



228 A PASTOR'S SYMPATHY. 

from on high.' Many a professed disciple has never bad his 
Pentecost, and that often makes the diametrical difference be- 
tween a skulking, cursing denial and a lion-hearted apostleship, 
as it did Avith Peter." * 

True Christian love is sympathetic, and sympathy 
is of the highest importance in pastoral labor. The 
sympathy required in this work is something more 
than a natural tenderness of feeling ; indeed, it is 
nothing short of a true religious affection. It feels 
for the woes of humanity rather than seems to feel, 
and cherishes and illustrates its feelings on the prin- 
ciple of the golden rule, instead of being controlled 
by fitful impulses. This kind of sympathy was man- 
ifested by Christ in his miracles of mercy to the sick, 
the lame, the blind, and even in restoring the dead to 
life, that he might assuage the grief of a widowed 
mother, and comfort the hearts of bereaved sisters. 
Paul had this sympathy when he said, " I say the 
truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing 
me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heav- 
iness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could 
wish that myself were accursed (separated) from 
Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the 
flesh." Rom. ix, i, 3. Also when he wrote other 
passages, like the following : " My little children, of 
whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in 
you." Gal. iv, 19. " God is my record, how greatly 
I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ." 
" Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and serv- 
ice of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all," 
Phil, i, 8 ; ii, 1 7. Sympathy for the poor and afflicted 

* Christian at Work. 



PARTAKING OF OTHERS' SORROWS. 229 

does not prompt us to say, " Be ye warmed, and be ye 
fed," but it arouses effort in their behalf. Sympathy 
for sinners does not lead one to excuse their guilt, 
nor to partake of their sins, but to appreciate their 
danger, and to work and pray for their rescue. In- 
deed, true sympathy of any kind does not exhaust 
itself in words, but expresses itself in appropriate and 
earnest action. Neither does it become cold and 
dead by professional routine, but it is deepened by 
exercise, and intensified by all the higher motives 
which cluster around the destinies of an immortal 
soul. The law of Christian sympathy, though brief, 
is exceeding broad. The apostle states it in this pre- 
cept, " Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep 
with them that weep." Rom. xii, 15. The pastor 
who fulfills this law becomes alike a participant of 
the joys and the sorrows of the members of his flock, 
and thus endears himself to them by double ties. 
Whereas he who holds himself aloof from either the 
gladness of the rejoicing, or the tears of the afflicted, 
loses his best opportunity for winning their hearts. 
Human life alternates between joy and sorrow, and 
the periods of these extremes of feeling are those in 
which all persons are most susceptible of moral influ- 
ence — a species of influence which a pastor must 
acquire and maintain, or his mission is a failure. 
Sympathy is needed in preaching as well as in private 
address. Indeed, the entering wedge of influence 
with congregations, as with individuals, is sympathy. 
A shrewd observer once said, " I have noticed that 
if a minister can only convince his congregation, dur- 
ing the first five minutes, that he cares for nothing 



2 30 HEAR T-PO WER. 

but to save their souls, he will kill all the critics in 
the house." 

Sympathy ministers largely to what is called heart- 
power, if, indeed, it be not heart-power itself. As 
love begets love, so the sympathetic pastor entwines 
around himself the affections of his people, and thus 
secures the most direct if not the only mode of ac- 
cess to their hearts. Of all the agencies of Christian 
influence this is the best and most certain of success. 
Hence it needs to be studied and cultivated, and con- 
tinually practiced. 

" Ah, how skillful grows the hand 
That obeyeth Love's command ! 
It is the hearty and not the brain, 
That to the highest doth attain ; 
And he who followeth Love's behest, 
Far excelleth all the rest."* 

It is interesting to observe, that various Christian 
Churches, which have heretofore been supposed to be 
indifferent to heart-power, as compared with stern 
logic, or the calm compulsions of reason, are now 
earnestly inculcating the former as a grand essential 
of ministerial success. 

A minister of the Dutch Reformed Church f 
recently said, addressing Presbyterian theological 
students : 

" Give full play to your own heart while writing, and while you 
are preaching. Touch the tender chords. I very much doubt 
whether the man who has no pathos in his nature was ever 
called of God to the sacred ministry. Beecher's highest power 
is in his pathos ; so is Dr. Guthrie's. Remember that your 
people have cradles in their houses, and sick-beds, and are all 

* Longfellow. tRev. T. L. Cuyler. 



A RECOGNIZED NECESSITY. 23 1 

of them men and women 'of like passions' with yourself. If 
you can 't help weeping, then weep ; if your feelings overcome 
you, then b?-eak down! It may break some others down too, 
and reach the fount of their tears. President M'Cosh lately 
described to me a wonderful scene in the Scotch General 
Assembly, when Alexander Duff spoke for two hours to an 
audience, who, for the most part, were opposed to his views, 
and yet he so completely broke them down by his overwhelming 
pathos, that every man in the multitude was weeping ; and the 
member of Parliament who went around to "lift" the mission- 
ary collection afterward, walked with his handkerchief to his 
.eyes, and the tears dropping from his cheeks ! The vast assem- 
bly was a perfect Bochhn. 

" The two most successful ministers in New York are not men 
who preach splendid intellectual discourses, but are possessed 
of this heart-power, both in the pulpit, the prayer-meeting, and 
in their pastoral work. Young brethren ! aim from the start to 
be thorough pastors. During the week, go to those whom you 
expect to come to you on the Sabbath. In the morning of each 
day, study books ; in the afternoon, study door-plates and hu- 
man natuj'e. Your people will give you material for your best 
practical sermons. After an effective Sunday work, go around 
among your flock, as Napoleon rode over the field after a battle, 
to see where the shot struck, and who were among the wounded. 

" In pastoral visiting, go where you are needed the most. If 
you neglect any body, neglect the strong, the cultured, and the 
godly. Go to the unconverted ; go to the suffering ; and go to 
those houses where the world comes the least. Get acquainted 
with every body, and do n't forget to recognize every body in 
the street. Always have a good tract or two in your pocket, 
and a kind word on your lips. Be sure of this, that every per- 
son, high or humble, likes personal attention (sympathy)." 

A Congregational professor* at Andover exhorts 
his students in the following language : 

"A preacher had better work in the dark, with nothing but 
mother-wit, a quickened conscience, and a Saxon Bible to teach 
him what to do and how to do it, than to vault into an aerial 

* Professor Phelps. 



232 REACH THE MASSES. 

ministr}?, in which only the upper classes shall know or care any- 
thing about him. You had better go and talk the gospel, in the 
Cornish dialect, to those miners wlio told the witnesses, sum- 
moned by the committee of the English Parliament, that they 
had ' never heard of Mister Jesus Christ in these mines,' than 
to do the work of the Bishop of London. Make your ministry 
reach the people ; in the forms of purest culture if you can, but 
7'each the people; with elaborate doctrine if possible, but reach 
the people J with classic speech if it may be, but reach the people. 
The great problem of life to an educated ministry is, to make 
their culture 2. power instead of a luxury. Our temptations are 
all one way. Our mission is all the other Avay. 

'•It is not, then, less education that our clergy need. It is 
inconceivable to me how any educated man can see relief from 
our present dangers, or from any dangers, in that direction. 
Ignorance is a remedy for nothing. So, imperfection of culture 
is always a misfortune. 

" But we do need consecratio7i of culture. This is the thing 
which the world is blindly craving. 

"Above all, we need faith in the Christian ideal of culture, 
which measures its value by its use ; its dignity by its lowliness ; 
its height in character by its depth of reach after souls below it. 
This was Christ's own ideal of culture. He possessed no other ; 
he respected no other ; he denounced every other most fear- 
fully. Not an act of his life, not a word from his lips, gives any 
evidence that he would have tolerated the awful anomaly of cler- 
ical life, in which a man ministers placidly in a palatial Church 
to none but elect and gilded hearers, with all the paraphernalia 
of elegance around him, and with culture expressed in the very 
fragrance of the atmosphere, while ' Five Points,' and ' Old 
Breweries,' and 'Ann Streets' are growing up uncared for by 
any labors of his, within hearing of his organ and his quartette. 

" Our guard against the peril here indicated, then, is spiritual, 
as distinct from intellectual, in its nature. The cry should be, 
not 'Less intellect! less study! less culture!' but simpl}-, 
'More heart! more prayer! more godliness! more subjection 
of culture to the salvation of those who have little or none of it !' 

" Prune down any theory which, for reasons yet unknown to 
you, yoii can not work to advantage, so as to make your way to 
the people's hearts. Stretch your theory to the facts of your 
life's work, be they what they may. Hold no. theory for a day 



CULTIVATION OF HEART-POWER, 2^,3 

which is not elastic enough to compass the necessities of your 
position. I have failed in my endeavors to help you if you have 
derived from my words any such theory. 

" Esteem no institutions sacred which set you above and aloof 
from the commonalty. Revere no clerical usages, no laws of 
etiquette, no guards of your reputation, no proprietary claims, 
which require you to hold back from personal labor with the 
humblest or the most guilty. Yield to no churchly sentiments, 
or whispered arrangements, or tacit understandings, or unut- 
tered disgusts, through which Churches shall be gathered by 
the law of social affinity instead of the law of benevolence ; so 
that their pastors can not get at the poor and the degraded, be- 
cause there are none such within hearing. 

"Refuse to be pastors of such Churches if they insist upon 
their exclusiveness. Accept rather the calls of the 'low-born 
and low-bred.' Let it be said of you, ' This man eateth with 
publicans and sinners.' Refuse to be tempted by Churches in 
which pageantry of architecture, pomp of worsliip, operatic mu- 
sic, patrician caste, sumptuous dress, and other forms of un- 
christian luxury, will conspire against you, making it impossible 
for the poor to be there if they would, and making them unwill- 
ing to be there if they could. The man was never born who 
could long carry the load of such a Church as that, with a 
Christ-like love of souls in his heart." 

Such teachings are in full accord with both the 
theory and the practice of Methodism, as illustrated 
in the whole history of its past successes. And while 
we may rejoice that Christians of other Churches are 
adopting and commending similar theories and prac- 
tice, it is important that we, as well as they, give 
increased attention to the cultivation of heart-power, 
and its application to the masses of the people. There 
are two modes of acquiring this great gift ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ 
of heart-power, which we all so much need, quiring heart- 

. . . . power. 

The first is a genuine heart-experience m 

the deep things of God ; and the second is personal 

experience and confidence, growing out of diligent 

20 



234 ^ GOOD OMEN. 

efforts to win the souls of those needing our minis- 
trations by close heart-contact with them. 

It is a happy omen of the times in which we live 
that even the Roman Catholics, who, in former days, 
relied on priestly authority, and on scourges, penances, 
and tortures to compel religious submission, and to 
enforce conformity to their usages, are now learning 
and teaching a better way to reach and influence the 
people. 

The following extracts are from a book officially 
issued by the Catholic Publication Society of New 
York, entitled "The Clergy and the Pulpit, in their 
relations to the people by the Abbe Mullois." 

" To address men well they must be loved much. Whatever 
they may be, be they ever so guilty, or indifferent, or ungrateful, 
or however deeply they may be sunk in crime, before all and 
above all they must be loved. Love is the sap of the gospel, 
the secret of livel}', effectual preaching, the magic power of elo- 
quence. The end of preaching is to reclaim the hearts of men 
to God, and nothing but love can find out the mysterious ave- 
nues which lead to the heart. We are always eloquent when we 
wish to save one whom we love ; we are always listened to when 
we are loved. But when a hearer is not moved by love, instead 
of listening to the truth he ransacks his mind for something 
wherewith to repel it, and in so doing human depravity is sel- 
dom at fault. If, then, you do not feel a fervent love and pro- 
found pity for humanity, if in beholding its miseries and errors 
you do not experience the throbbings, the holy thrillings of 
charity, be assured that the gift of Christian eloquence has been 
denied you. You will not win souls, neither will you ever gain 
influence over them, and you will never acquire that most excel- 
lent of earthly sovereignties, sovereignty over the hearts of 
men." "To be co-workers with Christ in regenerating and sav- 
ing mankind we must love it as he loved. He first did men 
good, then he addressed them. Hence it was that the people, 
unmindful of their most urgent wants, followed him, exclaiming, 
'Never man spake like this man.'" "It is not by essays of 



CHRISTIAN ZEAL. 235 

reasoning, any more than by the sword, that the moral world is 
to be swayed. A little knowledge, much sound sense, and much 
more heart are what is requisite to raise the great mass, the peo- 
ple, and to cleanse and purify them. To be able to reason is 
]uiman, very human, and one who is a man and nothing more 
may possess that ability as well as you, perhaps in a higher 
degree. But to love, to devote one's self, to sacrifice self, is 
something unearthly, divine, possessing a magic power. Self- 
devotion, moreover, is the only argument against which human 
malevolence can find no answer." " Have a heart, then, in deal- 
ing with the people; have charity; love and cause others to 
love, to feel, to thrill, to weep." " What a grand mission, what 
a glorious heritage is that of loving our fellow-men ! Let others 
seek to lord it over them and to win their applause, for my part I 
prefer holding out a hand to them, to bless and to pity them, con- 
vinced by a secret instinct that it is the best way to save them." 

Would that all priests and prelates of the Church 
of Rome might hereafter learn and practice the pious 
and charitable precepts of the Abbe Mullois ! By so 
doing they would be effectually, however insensibly, 
prepared to discard the errors of their system, and to 
adopt more spiritual conceptions of Christianity.* 

Space will not allow further discussion of the relig- 
ious qualities important in pastoral character, save a 
brief notice of that holy zeal which is necessary to 
kindle all the others into efficient action. Christian 
zeal is a passionate devotion to the worship and serv- 
ice of God, in accordance with the example and com- 
mands of Christ. It needs to burn in the soul of a 
minister with an undying flame. It may take either 
the form of a righteous indignation against sin, or ot 
burning, self-consuming love toward the sinner. It 

*It is proper to say that the paragraphs quoted are quite the best 
specimens of the Abbe's book. Many passages in it betray not only 
narrow views, but the superstitious notions of the Church and clergy 
which he represents. 



236 CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE. 

may prompt to equal activity in opposing wrong or 
establishing right. The Savior himself gave an ex- 
ample of the former when he "found in the temple 
those that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the 
changers of money sitting : and when he had made a 
scourge of small cords he drove them all out of the 
temple, and the sheep, and the oxen, and poured out 
the changers' money, and overthrew the tables ; and 
said unto them that sold doves. Take these things 
hence ; make not my Father's house a house of mer- 
chandise. And his disciples remembered that it was 
written. The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." 
John ii, 14-17. 

In the Old Testament zeal is represented as an 
attribute of the ]\Iost High. When Isaiah foretold 
the advent of the Prince of peace, and declared " of 
the increase of his government and peace there shall 
be no end," he added, '*the zeal of the Lord of hosts 
Avill perform this." Isaiah ix, 7. Isaiah again said: 
''And he [the Lord] saw that there was no man, 
and wondered that there was no intercessor; there- 
fore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his 
righteousness it sustained him. For he put on right- 
eousness as a breast-plate, and a helmet of salvation 
upon his head ; and he put on the garments of ven- 
geance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a 
cloak." lix, 16, 17. 

Under the new dispensation divine zeal assumed a 
milder form and more tender aspect, especially as it 
culminated in the sufferings of Calvary, where Jesus 
trod alone the wine-press of the fierceness and the 
wrath of Almighty God. Isaiah Ixiii, 3 ; Rev. xix, 15. 



APOSTOLIC ZEAL. 237 

Thenceforward true zeal for God could only be found 
in obedience to the cross of Christ, and in harmony 
with the meekness and purity of the Redeemer's 
character. In the New Testament a clear discrimi- 
nation is made between blind or unenlightened zeal 
and that which Js according to knowledge. 

The apostle Paul deplores his own former zeal as a 
Jew, persecuting the Church and cherishing the tra- 
ditions of his fathers, and yet he affirms that "it is 
good to be zealously affected always in a good thing." 
Indeed, the same apostle, whose zeal was illustrated 
in tireless and life-long efforts to make known the 
gospel among the Gentiles, represents that the great 
object of Christ in giving himself for us was "that he 
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto 
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." 
Titus ii, 14. The apostle Paul also commends zeal 
for spiritual gifts, i Cor. xiv, 12. Here, then, is 
scriptural guidance for the zeal of a pastor. Pie 
needs to be zealous of spiritual gifts that he "may 
excel to the edifying of the Church," and also zealous 
of those good works which are always the test of 
faith and love. 

Zeal is the opposite of lukewarmness. It is irrec- 
oncilable with inaction. It is a source of power, 
whether in the heart of a minister or in the bosom 
of a Church, whereas the influence exerted by indi- 
viduals or Churches toward saving men and mak- 
ing the world better is the measure of their zeal. 
Zeal may be sometimes impulsive, but, if sustained 
by principle and perseverance, it may be none the 
less valuable. An anonymous writer has sought to 



238 FOLLOW CHRIST. 

quicken ministerial zeal by reference to a tradition of 
the age of chivalry, in which it is related that 

"A Scottish king, when dying, bequeathed his heart to the 
most trusty and beloved of his nobles, to be carried to Pales- 
tine. Inclosing the precious deposit in a golden case, and 
suspending it from his neck, the knight went out with his com- 
panions. When on his way to Syria he was hard pressed by 
the Moors of Spain. That he might be inspired wdth super- 
natural courage, as it were — as an incitement to break victorious 
through his thronging foes — he snatched the charge intrusted to 
him from his neck, and, flinging it in the midst of his enemies, 
exclaimed, 'Forth, heart of Bruce, as thou wast wont, and 
Douglas will follow thee or die.' And so he perished in the 
endeavor to reclaim it from the trampling feet of the infidels, 
and to force his way out. 

" Such is the position of the minister of Christ when encount- 
ering the hosts of heathenism and sin. Our Master's heart has 
flung itself in advance of our steps. In the rushing crowds that 
withstand us, there is not one for whom that heart has not sym- 
pathized and bled, however rebellious and depraved. Be it ours 
to follow the leadings of his heart, and to pluck it, as it were, 
from the feet of those who, in ignorant superstition, apathetic 
indifference, or open profanity, tread under foot the Son of God, 
and count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing. 

"The illustration in its close is defective, for with us success 
Is promised and victory is sure ; so that with the Psalmist, in 
the language of holy confidence, we can say, ' I shall not die, 
but live and declare the works of the Lord.' 

"It was predicted of the Messiah that he should see of the 
travail of his soul and be satisfied ; that his earthly ministry 
should be successful ; that the great anxiety which stirred within 
his bosom, and carried him forward to his baptism of blood, 
sliould be appeased. This travail of soul was for souls. It 
was for the lost. Behold tlie Savior among the men of his gen- 
eration. He was bent upon plucking men as brands from the 
burning. He put his hand of blessing upon their little children. 
He lifted their dead, and they lived again. He showed them the 
way of life. But they wanted no such man among them. The 
light that went from him disturbed them, as the light of the sun 
disturbs the bats and owls in old ruins. 



TRAVAIL OF SOUL. 239 

" But Christ's life only prepared the way for his death. This 
was to be the corner-stone of man's salvation. And this death 
was the highest expression of the Redeemer's travail of soul 
for souls. He made his soul an offering for sin. He died the 
just, over whom death had no power, for the unjust, the wages 
of whose sin was death. And he was in an agony of desire and 
expectation until the work w^as accomplished. ' I have a bap- 
tism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be 
accomplished.' And this travail of soul was satisfied. Even 
as he hung upon the cross, a sin-bitten soul, a yearning penitent, 
cried, ' Lord, remember me.' And he did remember him, and 
saved him then and there. 

" No man can have any great warmth of religious feeling, or 
any close sympathy with the tlioughts and purposes of his divine 
Master, without having in his degree the same anxiety for the 
salvation of men, without the same willingness and purpose to 
devote himself to effecting their salvation. But it is said, ' There 
is no religious interest now.' So there was not when Christ 
came from heaven to show his travail of soul for sinners. The 
Jewish Church was cold and dead as a tomb. He fouiid no 
response in it but the echo of his own voice ; and yet he went 
forward. The baptism was on him. The work was before him. 
There was no rehgious interest ; and that is. why he girded him- 
self, and encountered hell and the grave. It was to awaken 
rehgious interest. It was to kindle a fire ; to arouse the souls 
of men to escape from the consequences of sin, and to lay hold 
on eternal life." 

A similar work he has bequeathed to his followers 
in every successive period of time. To accomplish it, 
his ministers must cherish a pure and quenchless zeal 
which will continually seek to diffuse and perpetuate 
itself in the hearts and lives of their fellow-men. 

C. Habits. 

The power of habit has been so often illustrated, 
and the consequent importance of good habits so fully 
demonstrated, that it can only be necessary at this 
point to suggest some of those habits or modes of 
action which are specially important to pastors as a 



240 PAULS SELF-ADAPTATION. 

means of increasing their moral power in any com- 
munity where their lot may be cast. Of these it may 
suffice to mention activity and diligence, as a 
means of redeeming time and profiting by opportuni- 
ties ; ACCURACY and thoroughness, as essential to 
doing well and completing properly whatever is taken 
in hand ; promptness and punctuality, as a means 
of saving one's own time and that of others. 

To these may be added, with especial emphasis, 
the habit of self-adaptation to men and circum- 
stances. This habit is strikingly illustrated in the 
example and language of Paul the apostle : ** Though 
I be free from all men, yet have I made myself serv- 
ant unto all, that I might gain the more. Unto the 
Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews ; 
to them that are under the law, as under the law, that 
I might gain them that are under the law ; to them 
that are without law, as without law, that I might gain 
them that are without law. To the weak I became as 
weak, that I might gain the weak : I am made all 
things to all men, that I might by all means save 
some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I 
might be partaker thereof with 3^ou." i Cor. ix, 19- 
23. The purpose and habit of self-adaptation is op- 
posed to the formality of fixed or ceremonious routine. 
It requires careful observation, correct judgment, and 
a certain inventiveness, without which a person is 
at a loss how to proceed, or, having erred, finds it 
difficult to correct his mistakes. It, however, does 
not involve, nor does any language of the apostle 
countenance, the slightest deflection from high moral 
rectitude. On the other hand, the principle and 



CONSISTENCY. 24 1. 

practice of Christian adaptation must be regulated 
by a pure and enlightened conscience in all possible 
circumstances. 

Inventiveness in a pastor is highly important in 
reference to the various plans and arrangements re- 
quired in administering the affairs of a Church. It 
Jieeds, however, to be guarded as well as stimulated, 
■ ■ t it degenerate into the habit of making changes 
the isake of change. 

Superadded to all other good habits must be that 
of CONSISTENCY. The term consistency, from consis- 
tei'e, to stand together, suggests the idea of harmoni- 
ous co-existence. Consistency, in its broadest sense, 
demands, not merely harmony in all the elements of 
one's character, but such a balance and co-operation 
of all those elements as will avoid self-antagonisms, 
and secure the highest efficiency of Christian and 
ministerial effort in every department of labor. Man- 
kind generally have an acute sense of congruity as 
applied to character. This fact is indicated by the cur- 
rent proverb, " Consistency is a jewel ;" and also still 
iiore strongly by the proverb, current even in our Sav- 
ior's day, " Physician, heal thyself" A Christian min- 
ister must be consistent with his position as a teacher, 
otherwise his example may counteract his precepts. 
He must also be consistent with himself and his own 
professions. If a Christian be the highest style of 
man, a minister should be the highest style of Chris- 
tian. This requirement involves not only the neces 
sity of a deep religious experience, but also of a life 
in all respects corresponding. A pastor must there- 
fore be consistent with his own highest ideal of a 

21 



242 DEMANDS OF CONSISTENCY. 

perfect character. To voluntarily come short of that, 
and to apologize to himself for inconsistencies, even 
though known to himself alone, will be to forfeit his 
self-respect, and to lay himself open to failure, and 
even to apostasy. Far above the observations and 
criticisms of others, he should continually aspire to 
that holiness of life and completeness of character 
required by the Judge of all. Any thing short of this 
will be inconsistent with the higher obligations of his 
sacred profession. 

This chapter may be fitly closed with Bishop Ken's 

"PORTRAIT OF A PASTOR. 

Give me the priest these graces shall possess — 

Of an embassador the just address ; 

A father's tenderness, a shepherd's care, 

A leader's courage, which the cross can bear; 

A ruler's awe, a watchman's wakeful eye, 

A pilot's skill the helm in storms to ply; 

A fisher's patience, a laborer's too, 

A guide's dexterity to disembroil ; 

A prophet's inspiration from above, 

A teacher's knowledge, and a Savior's love. 

Give me the priest, a light upon a hill, 

Whose rays his whole circumference can fill ; 

In God's own word and sacred learning versed, 

Deep in the study of the heart immersed ; 

Who in sick souls can the disea^ descry, 

And wisely for restoratives apply ; 

To beatific pastures leads his sheep, 

Watchful from hellish wolves his fold to keep ; 

Who seeks not a convenience, but a cure, • 

Would rather souls than his own gain insure ; 

Instructive in his visits and converse, 

Strives every-where salvation to disperse ; 

Of a mild, humble, and obliging heart, 

W^ho with his all does to the needy part ; 

Distrustful of himself, in God confides ; 

Daily himself among his flock divides ; 

Of virtue uniform, and cheerful air. 



FOR TRA ITU RE. 243 

Fix'd meditation, and incessant prayer; 

Affections mortified, well-guided zeal, 

Of saving truth the relish wont to feel ; 

Whose province — heaven — all his endeavor shares, ' 

Who mixes with no secular affairs ; 

Oft on his pastoral account reflects. 

By holiness, not riches, gains respect ; 

WJio is all that he luoiild have others be, 

From willful sin, though not from frailty free ; 

Who still keeps Jesus in his heart and head, 

Who strives in steps of one Arch-Priest to tread; 

Who can himself and all the world deny, 

Live pilgrim here, but denizen on high." 



Note.— John Wesley's "Address to the Clergy," written in 1756, and published in 
the American edition of his works, at page 217, volume vi, contains many thoughts on 
Ministerial Qualifications whicli are scarcely less adapted to the present period than to 
that in which they were written. 



244 PERSONAL DUTIES. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE DUTIES OF A PASTOR— PERSONAL. 

A MINISTER'S calling, his qualifications, and his 
appointment all point in one direction, that of 
duty. The duties of the pastoral office are, from the 
first, numerous and responsible. In the progress of 
events they become complicated and absorbing. 

Pastoral duties may be considered as belonging to 
two great classes, personal and public. The latter 
can never be rightly discharged by one who neglects 
the former. Hence it is proper to commence the 
discussion of pastoral duties by considering what the 
pastor owes to himself 

All religious obligation centers in individual per- 
sons. " For himself every one must give account 
unto God." The pastor is no exception. Rather, in 
proportion to the dignity and responsibility of his 
office, a pastor's personal obligations are increased. 
Because a pastor he ought to be none the less a 
man, but, indeed, all the more a man and a Chris- 
tian. The apostle Paul recognized the primary obli- 
gation of personal duty when he exhorted Timothy 
in these words: "Take heed unto thyself and unto 
the doctrine, for in doing this thou shalt both save 
thyself and them that hear thee." Also in his charge 



PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION. 245 

to the Ephesian elders : " Take heed, therefore, unto 
yourselves and to all the flock." 

A minister's personal obligations involve what re- 
lates to his bodily health and vigor, the improvement 
of his time, the cultivation of his mind, his domestic 
duties, and his private religious exercises. He has 
committed to him as the gift of God talents, time, 
and opportunities, three great elements out of which 
he is required to elaborate results for the divine glory. 

With all his high spiritual responsibilities, he can 
never ignore his physical relations. While in the 
body he is "of the earth, earthy." He must eat and 
sleep like other men. But not, as some other men do, 
may he make eating, sleeping, or other physical grati- 
fications a chief end in life. With him, although not 
to be disregarded as gratifications, they are chiefly to 
be contemplated as means necessary to nobler ends 
and higher objects. That a minister's material exist- 
ence may be worthy of himself and conducive to the 
special objects of his life, he must not be indifferent 
to physiological science. Rather he should embrace 
in his knowledge of the universe a thoroughly scien- 
tific acquaintance with the anatomical structure and 
vital functions of his own physical system. He should 
understand the laws of health, and conform his habits 
to such uses of his eyes, his ears, and his voice as 
will conduce to their most efficient agency in his great 
work. He should deem it obligatory upon him to 
allot the necessary amount of time and put forth the 
requisite exertions not merely to preserve health, but 
to secure such a physical cultivation as will give him 
the best use of all his bodily powers. In the early 



246 EXERCISE, 

days of American Methodism these results were usu- 
ally secured by the long rides and the daily preaching 
necessary in itinerating among sparse populations. 
But with the increase of population in our country, 
and the success of the Church in establishing pas- 
toral stations in the cities and villages, there has 
come to our ministers, as to others, the temptation 
to physical inactivity which, if yielded to, is certain 
to effeminate the man, the Christian, and the minis- 
ter. Nevertheless, this temptation, like others, may 
be resisted and overcome, as it will be by those pas- 
tors who have regard to the full measure of their 
responsibilities. Such persons will find it practicable 
not only to secure a sufficient amount of healthful 
exercise and recreation, but also to combine both 
with the discharge of pastoral obligations and domes- 
tic duties. Nor in so doing will they find it necessary 
to resort to puerile and time-wasting amusements. 
Not being afraid of the gymnastics of the ax, the 
saw, the pruning-knife, or the hoe, they will often be 
able to do themselves a double service by their use. 
William Jay, the celebrated preacher and author, 
was accustomed to boast that he dug his Morning 
Exercises daily out of his garden. Dr. Dempster, 
who was scarcely less noted for the successful battle 
he fought against disease for a long series of years 
than for his stalwart intellect and metaphysical acu- 
men, used, when near seventy years of age, to tone 
up his bodily vigor daily by attention to his wood- 
pile in Winter and his garden in Summer. Others 
have preserved their vigor by riding, walking, or row- 
insf. But who ever heard of such a result from a 



FEEBLENESS. 247 

clergyman's dawdling over a game of croquet? If 
such a pretense of exercise could be useful to any 
one, it might possibly suit the case of some poor 
specimen of a parson such as Dr. Pond has described 
in the following terms : 

''A feeble, sickly, run-down minister, however good may be 
his intentions, must necessarily be inefficient. He will be able 
to do but little for his people. He will find himself fettered and 
embarrassed in all his attempts to do them good. And it will be 
easy for a minister who neglects the proper precautions to render 
himself feeble and sickly. Indeed, he will speedily and inevita- 
bly do this. Nature has prescribed rules respecting diet, exer- 
cise, exposure, study, which she will not allow us to violate with 
impunity, and he who carelessly, needlessly violates them becomes 
not only a sufferer, but a sinner. He throws away that which 
God has intrusted to him, a gift which he is, so far as possible, 
to preserve and consecrate wholly to the service of the gospel." 

A writer in one of the journals of the day has set 
forth the physical errors into which some ministers 
allow themselves to fall in the following terms : 

" The clergyman should understand physiology, that he may 
know how to take care of his health, and learn to say no when 
the kind-hearted parishioner urges him to indulge in cakes, pies, 
confections, strong tea, coffee, and other delicacies as he is mak- 
ing his parochial visits. One-half the illness of ministers, even 
of those who graduated from the theological schools healthy, is 
owing to the labored writing of sermons, and the high living 
incident to the pampering spirit of fond parishioners, and the 
lack of manly exercise, which, by public sentiment, seems to be 
denied to them. Some clergymen, unfortunately, use alcoholic 
liquors, to the damage of their health, and occasionally to their 
shame and the scandal of the Church. Nearly all use strong 
coffee and tea, and since the use of alcoholic stimulants has be- 
come measurably unpopular thousands of ministers have adopted 
the use of tobacco in some form, to the ruin of their health, the 
utter prostration of their nervous systems and their memory, 
and the demoralization of their manliness. Shut out by popular 



248 REDEEM THE TIME. 

opinion from the invigorating labors and exercises by which other 
men keep^ themselves built up, many clergymen resort to some 
stimulant or narcotic, with the delusive idea that the temporary 
excitement is a source of strength and upbuilding. The result 
is dyspepsia, nervousness, throat disease, and general debility. 
Ministers should at least be temperate in all bodily appetites." 

Undoubtedly the list of bad habits in which some 
clergymen indulge might still be considerably ex- 
tended, but, without entering into further details, a 
general warning against whatever will debilitate the 
body or. enfeeble the mind must here suffice. Enough 
has been said to show that every conscientious pastor 
should seek by all legitimate efforts to maintain the 
highest purity and vigor of body, as auxiliary to intel- 
lectual health and spiritual power. This position is 
corroborated by facts in the history of the Church 
which show that the men who have accomplished 
great results for the cause of God were those who 
have preserA-ed the vientcvi sanam in corpore sano, 
while it is observable at the present time that the 
ministers who exert a controlling influence in ecclesi- 
astical bodies and over large communities are men of 
strong nerves, ringing voice, and masculine thought, 
though not always of large physical proportions. 

The proper improvement of time is fundamental 
to success in whatever relates to personal cultivation or 
public usefulness. When we reflect upon the brevity 
and uncertainty of human life, and the large propor- 
tion of its whole period that is necessarily absorbed in 
sleep and the supply of our physical wants, together 
with the eternal consequences pending upon the right 
employment of our waking moments, we may well be 
astonished at the indifference with which some good 



AVOID IRREGULARITY. 249 

men. let their time go to waste. By them moments 
are uncounted, hours are whiled away, and even whole 
days suffered to lapse without results, and apparently 
without compunction. It is not wonderful that the 
lives of such persons are consequently of but little 
value to themselves or to the world. But this nega- 
tive result becomes, in the light of Scripture, a posi- 
tive sin, and persons responsible for it stand rebuked 
by all those passages of God's word which admonish 
men of the brevity of time and enjoin the duty of 
redeeming it. The tenor of Scripture in this regard 
should be considered emphatically binding upon pas- 
tors as ensamples to the flock and as stewards of the 
gift of God. 

One of the first requisites for the redemption of 
time is a suitable plan, and it is to be re- 

- . Plans needed. 

gretted that systems 01 education rarely 
give sufficient prominence to this subject. Neverthe- 
less, not among the least benefits of public education 
is long practice in the orderly and close employment 
of the successive portions of each day. Unhappily 
many students, when once free from the routine of 
institutional life, instead of profiting by the drill they 
have received in this respect, relapse into the great- 
est irregularity, and seem to enjoy the inactivity and 
disorder which are then possible to them. Such 
will not be the course of an intelligent and consci- 
entious Christian minister. On the other hand, he 
will cheerfully impose upon himself a closer econ- 
omy of time and more rigid rules for the redemption 
of his moments than any institution can enforce. 
The standard of Methodism as applied to ministers 



250 WESLEY'S RULES. 

has always been high in this regard, and to this fact 
is owing, in no small degree, the efficiency of the 
system and the personal usefulness of the great body 
of its clergy. John Wesley was eminently a man 
of system, and at an early period of the Wesleyan 
reformation he embodied in the minutes of his con- 
ferences rules and precepts bearing upon the em- 
ployment of time which have been retained by his 
ministerial successors down to the present day as a 
part of the discipline to which they voluntarily pledge 
conformity. The following extracts from the " Large 
Minutes," as published in 1789, deserve to be exam- 
ined in this connection, both for their historical sig- 
nificance and their intrinsic value : 

" Qiies. I. How may we best improve the time of this Con- 
ference ? 

'■'■Ans. (i.) While we are conversing let us have an especial 
care to set God always before us. 

" (2.) In the intermediate hours let us redeem all the time we 
can for private exercises." 

" Qiies. 26. What are the rules of a helper ? 

'•'■Ans. (i.) Be diligent. Never be unemployed a moment; 
never be triflingly employed ; never while away time, neither 
spend any more time at any place than is strictly necessary. 

"(10.) Be punctual. Do every thing exactly at the time." 

" Qnes. 29. What general method of employing our time would 
you advise us to ? 

'■^Atis. We advise you, (i.) As often as possible to rise at four. 
(2.) From four to five in the morning, and from five to six in the 
evening, to meditate, pray, and read, partly the Scripture with 
the notes, partly the closely practical parts of what we have pub- 
lished. (3.) From six in the morning till twelve — allowing an 
hour for breakfast — to read in order, with much prayer, first, 
'The Christian Library' and the other books which we have 
published in prose and verse, and then those which we recom- 
mended in our rules of Kingsvvood school." 



BAXTER QUOTED. 25 I 

As though these rules were not sufficient, the sub- 
ject of redeeming time is again referred to under the 
topic of personal religious instruction : 

" In the afternoon follow Mr. Baxter's plan. Then you will 
have no time to spare. You will have work enough for all 
your time." " The sum is, Go into every house in course, and 
teach every one therein, young and old, if they belong to us, 
to be Christians inwardly and outwardly," " We must needs 
do this, were it only to avoid idleness. Do we not loiter away 
many hours in every week? Each try himself. No idleness 
can consist with growth in grace. Nay, without exactness in 
redeeming time you can not retain the grace you received in 
justification." 

Better general advices could hardly be given, and 
yet it is well for individuals to have detailed plans, 
allotting portions of time to specific duties in ac- 
cordance with their peculiar circumstances. Other- 
wise they will be in danger of daily losing many 
precious moments. 

Any wise plan for the distribution of a minister's 
time will provide for the several great necessities of 
his nature — physical, mental, spiritual. While cir- 
cumstances will occasionally require modifications of 
the best plan, yet there are certain leading features 
of pastoral life and duty which will harmonize in the 
experience of all men at all times. Hence a speci- 
men plan, taken from actual practice, may be useful, 
at least suggestive to many. In the matter of early 
rising, it will be seen to fall below the standard of 
Wesley. Nevertheless it is capable of easy adapta- 
tion to those who will adopt and maintain Wesley's 
habit of rising and commencing the duties of each day 
at four o'clock in the morning. 



252 A PASTOR'S PLAN. 

PLAN FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF A PASTOR'S TIME. 

I. Allotment of Hours. 

A. Study, . . . .Six hours. 

B. Pastoral and public duties, Six hours. 

C. Domestic and private duties. Five hours. 

D. Sleep, .... Seven hours. = Twenty-four. 

II. Order of the Day. 

5 A. M. Rising and private devotion. 

6 " Exercise. 

7 " Breakfast and family worship. 

8 " Study and writing. 

1 P. M. Dinner and private devotion. 

2 •' Reading and correspondence, 

3 " Pastoral visiting. 

6 " Supper and family worship, 

7 " Church business, calls, and company. 

8 " Meetings. 

9.30 " Review of the day and private worship. 
10 " Sleep. 

III. Order of the Week. 

A. M. Monday, Official registry, correspondence, etc-. 

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Special prep- 
aration for the pulpit. 
Friday and Saturday, Systematic Study, Theolog- 
ical and Scientific. 
P. JM. Monday and Saturday, ]\Iiscellaneous duties, 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursda}-, and Frida}-, Pas- 
toral visits. 

In most communities Mondays and Saturday's are 
not favorable days for pastoral visits ; hence the above 
plan allots the afternoons of those days, together with 
Monday mornings, to the various official and miscel- 
laneous duties that arise in the course of a week, but 
which may usually be assigned to those days without 
detriment to the interests of the Church, and often- 
times to the advantage of others as well as of the 



REMARKS. 253 

pastor. " To every thing there is a season, and a time 
to every purpose" — Eccl. iii, i — is a text which de- 
serves to be inculcated upon all Church members 
and communities. 

While it is conceded that the spirit of a plan like 
the above is* more important than its minute details, 
yet it is well for the young minister to adhere as 
closely as possible to the plan he may adopt, lest he 
should insensibly fah more under the influence of 
exceptions than of the rules themselves. But it is 
objected that great practical difficulties will be en- 
countered in adhering rigidly to a system like the 
above — specially that people will be offended if a 
pastor is not at all times accessible to them, and 
subject to the convenience of any one as to the time 
and length of the calls he must receive. It may be 
admitted that many congregations have been badly 
educated in this matter through the weakness or 
inconsiderateness of former pastors, but it is not to 
be believed that any Christian community will object 
to thoroughly studious and systematic habits on the 
part of its minister, or indeed will fail to approve of 
his greatest strictness in redeeming time when once 
enabled to understand that his object is to do them 
the greater good as a result. Nothing, therefore, can 
be more proper than for a pastor to make congregational 
known to his congregation, on some fit oc- co-operation. 
casion, and in a modest way, that in obedience to the 
rules of the Church, and his own convictions of duty, 
he wishes to have his mornings free from interruption, 
that they may be exclusively devoted to study and 
preparation for the pulpit, and also that he may secure 



254 ADVANTAGES OF SYS TEAL 

time for public and pastoral engagements during the 
later hours of the day. In such a connection, it would 
be well to appoint the time at which he can most con- 
veniently receive calls, not failing to state that for any 
emergency, such as extreme illness, death, or funerals, 
he will hold himself always in readiness. ' Timely and 
judicious explanations of his plans and wishes, in ref- 
erence to matters of mutual interest, will seldom if 
ever fail to secure for a pastor a cordial approval, and 
even the higher respect of his congregation, since its 
various members will not be slow to perceive that 
their own intellectual and spiritual progress is closely 
identified with that of him who ministers to them in 
sacred things. 

Some of the advantages of a systematic distribution 
of time are obvious ; such as, i. The saving of many 
valuable moments, which, without it, would be lost in 
hesitation, between leaving oif one engagement and 
entering upon another. 2. Deliberation in advance 
will always secure a wiser and more comprehensive 
plan than is possible to one who allows himself to be 
governed by impulses, whether from within or with- 
out. 3. Study systematically pursued, even though 
but a brief time each day, is of far greater value than 
when fitfully and irregularly performed. 

In this connection it is proper to consider what a 
Christian pastor owes himself in reference to mental 
cultivation. Taking it for granted that in his prehm- 
inary studies he has secured such an introductory and 
general knowledge of books as was recommended in 
the chapter on qualifications, it becomes him in later 
life to make more substantial acquisitions of knowl- 



INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT. 255 

edge, and to attain a broader culture than was possi- 
ble to him as a mere student. If to mental maturity 
and enlarged opportunities of observation a pastor add 
habitual diligence in systematic study and thought- 
fulness, he can hardly fail to gain more perfect con- 
ceptions of truth, if not a more rapid mental growth 
when in actual service than during former periods of 
his life. Having previously learned how to study, and 
having now the highest possible motives to gain en- 
larged knowledge and increased mental power, even 
limited portions of time may enable him to accomplish 
invaluable results in his own behalf, both as a man 
and a minister of the gospel ; while to omit efforts 
for these objects, and to settle down into an easy, 
self-satisfied dormancy, will be to forfeit some of the 
highest pleasures of human existence, and to invoke 
premature mental decay, as well as a corresponding 
but certain loss of power and influence. That this 
sinister alternative is not only possible, but in many 
cases actual, is clearly and dispassionately shown in 
the following article, which appeared some years ago 
in a religious periodical,* but which is too faithful a 
portraiture of clerical dangers to be suffered to pass 
into oblivion : 

"DECLINE OF ENTHUSIASM IN THE SACRED OFFICE. 

"We have traveled North and South, East and West, and 
have known hundreds of ministers, and what do we find the 
state of the profession in this country ? There are many excel- 
lent and laborious, and some distinguished men. But, on the 
other hand, we find many who show no great enthusiasm in 
their work ; who only pursue their round of duties, as the law- 
yer takes care of his chents, and the doctor of his patients. 

* The New York Evangelist. 



256 PASTORAL ENTHUSIASM. 

'* This lack of enthusiasm has surprised us, as it marks a great 
change in these very minds. A theological seminary is com- 
monly a focus of intellectual life. A body of young men, engaged 
in the same studies, and debating questions with ardor, seem to 
be giving and receiving an impulse which can never be lost. 
There is an animation from the contact of so many young minds. 
It would appear that, thus instructed and vitalized, they must go 
on to perfection. But see these men ten years later, and, to the 
surprise of all, half of them have made no progress. They have 
settled down in some quiet valley. Their minds have been 
standing still. They preach no better than when they left the 
seminarv — probably not so well, for in their first efforts there 
was a youthful fervor which time wears awa}'. This decay of 
intellectual life is the bane of ministers. Next to the dechne 
of piety itself, that which they have most to dread is the slug- 
gishness which, after a few years, creeps over their minds, 

"It is easy to trace the progress of this mental declension. 
The minister goes forth to his work like a young giant rejoicing 
to run his race. His mind is excited by his recent studies, and 
he falls to writing sermons like one inspired. But this ardor is 
cooled, not by violent opposition, but by the general indifference 
around him. He then feels the want of those professors who 
have supplied his mind with subjects for thought, or of fellow- 
students to debate with. But, alas ! he may not find one kin- 
dred spirit with whom to counsel or contend. He has nobody 
even to contradict him. 

" Here is the chief danger of a country minister. In the ab- 
sence of all those influences from without, which can excite his 
mind, the general stagnation of life, in a few years, brings a fatal 
lethargy over his intellect. In the little domain of his parish 
he finds nothing to arouse him to great efforts. He may have 
in his congregation men of more talent than himself But their 
pursuits lie in a different direction. They take little interest in 
those high theological questions which trouble him ; while the 
mass of his audience, being plain people, care little for profound 
reasoning or polished eloquence. The result is that he loses 
his ambition. After struggling for a while against this leaden 
atmosphere, he sinks down under it, and vegetates as quietly as 
the elm that overshadows his dwelling. 

"The effect soon appears in the performances of the Sabbath. 
The young preacher discovers a dangerous secret — that he can 



PASTORAL DECAY. 2^7 

make poor sermons pass about as well as good ones. He finds 
that an extemporaneous effusion, written Saturday evening, but 
delivered with a swelling voice, is as well received as his most 
elaborate discourses. He infers that great labor of preparation 
is thrown away. Any thing will do for his simple flock. This 
is a strong temptation to idleness. He forms the habit of post- 
poning preparation for the pulpit to the end of the Aveek, and 
then dashes off a homily without any strong mental labor. 

" This is the ruin of hundreds of fine minds. They perish by 
neglect. They lapse into a loose way of reasoning, and a slat- 
ternly style of composition. When young men begin to consult 
their ease, they are lost. They will never make any thing in the 
world. Their minds will atop growing. Their preaching will 
be a repetition of flat commonplaces, and end in empty rant. 

" Nor does the mischief end here. A people may not prove 
so simple as the new pastor thought them. For they will dis- 
cover after a time that he is not the great man they took him for, 
and they will begin to look for another. It is a fact which all 
observe, that ministers settled in cities are far more seldom dis- 
missed than those in the country. One reason is, that a larger 
experience of the world supplies their minds with fresh food for 
thought. They are kept awake and living by the ocean of life 
around them. But how to sustain this activity when the out- 
ward stimulus is wanting — that is the difficulty. How shall a 
minister, leading a retired and solitary life in the country, keep 
up a constant freshness of thought.'' To this there is but one 
answer. If a scholar or a preacher can not find excitement out-of- 
doors, he must find it within — in himself and in books. Let him 
enter his study, and lock the door, and then he can select a society 
to his taste. There are his University and his professors — his 
wise and eloquent men. Let him converse with these great 
intellects every day, and he will not be an ordinary man." 

Thus the writer comes round to the very thought 
in connection with which his statements were intro- 
duced — Study, hard and systematic study, as an essen- 
tial and never-ceasing duty which a pastor owes to 
himself as well as to his flock. But it is more pleas- 
ant to relieve the stern aspect of duty by presenting 
the same consideration in the light of privilege. 

22 



258 THE PRIVILEGE OF STUDY. 

Whoever has tasted the sweets of learning is entitled 
to consider himself invited ever onward and upward 
to higher banquetings in the temple of knowledge ; 
and though his duties extraneous to direct study are 
numerous and responsible, still they will all be more 
easily discharged in proportion to increasing progress 
in study. Let, then, the idea of a systematic division 
of time be wedded to that of study, so that no other 
duties will be neglected, and let both ideas be illus- 
trated by a determination as sacred as his religious 
convictions, and so far from retrogression, mental 
progress will become the law of the pastor's life. 

The crowning advantage of ministerial over merely 
scholastic study is that, in the latter, one has imme- 
diate opportunity for the use of whatever mental ac- 
quisitions he secures, whether from books or by the 
elaboration of thought. As to the method of a pas- 
tor's study it will usually be by topics. Although 
sometimes he will have reasons for reading a book 
through in course, more frequently he will have oc- 
casion to consult a variety of books in ref- 

Topical study. 

erence to a single topic. Topical study 
is at once the most pleasant and the most practicable 
for a pastor ; pleasant, because it takes him out of the 
ruts of any one man's system of teaching or mode of 
thinking, and secures for his mind an agreeable variety 
of subjects and ideas ; practicable, because with exist- 
ing helps it is easy to avail one's self of the labors of 
the best minds, to serve either as the initiation or the 
auxiliaries of thought. Topical study favors the habit 
of mental concentration, without which nothing deep 
is ever reached. " One subject at a time, and that 



INVESTIGATION OF TOPICS. 259 

thoroughly investigated," is the proper motto for ad- 
vanced students. In the search for truth investiga- 
tion should, whenever it is possible, be jDursued until 
a conclusion is clearly reached and the mind satisfied. 
The mind should never allow itself to halt long be- 
tween two opinions, nor to rest in half-formed con- 
clusions. Thus a habit of thoroughness may be 
established. 

The proper preparation of sermons leads to topical 
study of the most valuable and interesting kind ; but 
in order to realize the highest advantage to the ser- 
mon, or from the study, unity of theme and unity of 
treatment are strictly essential. While the pastor is 
by no means denied the privilege of theoretic study, 
either in science, philosophy, or morals, he should ac- 
quire the habit of making his studies, in every depart- 
ment, converge to practical ends. Especially should 
he cultivate the power of commanding at will what- 
ever knowledge he possesses to illustrate the topic 
in hand, whatever it may be. Thus he may make 
nature corroborate revelation, and all knowledge sub- 
sidiary to religious ends. 

When the mind has attained the power of produc- 
tiveness, it becomes its own teacher, and Mental pro- 
effectually instructs itself while preparing '^"ctiveness. 
instruction for others. In the pastoral duty of feed- 
ing the flock, no material affords such freshness and 
relish as that in which the mind of the teacher is inter- 
ested as its own pabulum. Let him, therefore, who 
would lead his flock into green pastures, not content 
i himself with offering them the husks of other men's 
gathering, or of his own past preparations, but rather 



26o THINKING. 

aim to keep his mind continually productive, and ha- 
bituated, at least, to making new combinations of 
thought. 

It is, moreover, exceedingly desirable to acquire 
the capacity of pursuing trains of thought when 
away from books and the appliances • of study. Not 
only may much time be saved by the exercise of this 
power, but thought will often derive greater freshness 
from a change of scene, and invention become stim- 
ulated to higher flights and broader excursions, when 
its possessor moves out into the open air, instead of 
sitting, jaded with confinement to his study. Thus 
may duty and pleasure, labor and health, be made to 
combine for the great ends of the ministry. 

In all precepts with reference to ministerial study 
the holy Scriptures, especially in the original, and 
with the best critical helps, should be placed in the 
foreground. Following these, standard authors, first 
in theology, and then in the several great depart- 
ments of literature and science, should receive perse- 
vering attention. In following out these brief but 
comprehensive precepts inferior authorship of every 
kind must be rejected, and time only occupied with 
that which is in a high degree profitable. Nor need 
any fear be entertained of hard study when its hours 
are properly limited and alternated. Indeed, hard 
study — intense, absorbing application — is the only 
kind worthy of the name of study. F. W. Robertson 
illustrated this principle, both in manner and result. 
He said of himself: 

" I read hard or not at all — never skimming, never turn- 
ing aside to many inviting books — and Plato, Aristotle, Butler, 



HARD STUDY NOT DANGEROUS. 26 1 

Thucydides, and Jonadian Edwards have passed, like the iron 
atoms of the blood, into my mental constitution." He cultivated 
" the steady habit of looking forward to a distant end, and unal- 
terably working on until he had attained — the habit of never 
beginning any thing which is not to be finished." 

The idea that life is shortened by hard study is 
now pretty thoroughly exploded. A popular writer 
on health* pertinently says: 

" Thought is the life of the brain as exercise is the life of the 
body. There can be no more such a thing as a healthy brain, 
as to the mental department, without thought or study, than 
there can be a healthful body without exercise. And, as phys- 
ical exercise preserves the body in health, so thought, which is 
the exercise of the brain, keeps it well. But here the parallel 
ends. We may exercise, work too much, but we can not think 
too much in the way of expressing ourselves, for both writing 
and talking are a relief to the mind ; they are, in a sense, its 
play, its diversion. Pent-up thoughts may kill as pent-up steam 
wrecks the locomotive. The expression of thought is like work- 
ing off the steam from the boiler. When clergymen break down, 
or public men or professors in colleges or other hterary institu- 
tions get sick and die, the universal cry is 'study,' 'too much 
responsibihty,' 'too much mental application.' It is never so — 
not in a single case since the world began. We defy proof, and 
will open our pages to any authenticated case. If a man will 
give himself sleep enough, and will eat enough nutritious food 
at proper intervals, and will spend two or three hours in tlie 
open air every day, he may study, and work, and write until he 
is gray, and still be young in mental vigor and clearness." 

Books being essential helps to the acquisition of 
knowledge, a library for his personal use a pastor's 
and convenience is indispensable to a pas- ^'^'■'^'^'• 
tor. Nevertheless, as a pastor is subject to frequent 
changes of residence, and also limited in his resources, 
his library must be adapted to his circumstances, and 

* Hall. 



262 THE SELECTION OF BOOKS. 

therefore choice rather than large. But as the tastes 
and circumstances of pastors will differ, and as some 
kinds of investigation will be forced upon some men 
and not upon others, it is obvious that no list of 
books can be prescribed that will be equally suitable 
for every pastor's library. Every pastor, therefore, 
should aim to comprehend for himself the principles 
that ought to govern him in the selection of his 
library. As a literary and professional man he will 
necessarily be a book-buyer all his life. Intellectual, 
like material food, is required day by day as life 
advances. Hence he may be content to provide for 
his literary necessities as they arise, and not feel 
pressed at the beginning of his ministry to purchase 
such a library as he may need and may hope to have 
in subsequent years. At the outset, however, he 
would do well to determine that none but the best 
books shall command either his money or his time. 
Hence he should know what to reject, as well as 
what to buy. For both purposes some acquaintance 
with commercial bibliography will be useful as ena- 
bling him to know the character of publishers, what 
are the best editions of books, and when specially 
favorable terms are offered. This, superadded to such 
a knowledge of books and authors as a good edu- 
cation will initiate, and proper attention to current 
reviews will continue and extend, will be a suitable 
preparation for the task now under consideration. 

In book-buying, as in most matters, there are oppo- 
site extremes to be avoided. On the one hand, books 
being attractive, and possessing certain intrinsic val- 
ues, the young minister is inclined to buy too many. 



BOOK-BUYING. 26 ^ 

At this point, therefore, let him resolve strongly not 
to buy books merely on account of their artistic 
beauty, their popular character, their great rarity, nor 
even their cheapness, although either of these quali- 
ties might add to the motives for purchasing books 
actually wanted. 

There is, on the other hand, a possibility of being 
too cautious and pennywise in the purchase of books, 
and of so far withholding more than is meet from the 
book-seller as to tend to mental poverty. In these 
days of cheap publishing, when a few dollars will 
enable any one to procure the literary products of a 
strong man's life-time, there is no wisdom in declining 
to buy books which afford any just promise of in- 
tellectual or spiritual advantage. A clergyman had 
better deny himself expenses in the line of furniture, 
clothing, or even food for his body, than to put his 
mind on a starving allowance. If there is a possibil- 
ity of mistake in regard to the provision of furniture 
for his mind, it is better to err on the side of liberal- 
ity than of parsimony, more especially since mistakes 
of the former kind are not difficult of remedy by the 
sale of any book that, on examination, one does not 
wish to retain. 

It may, therefore, be affirmed that a Christian pastor 
ought not to be without a library which shall, at the 
beginning, fairly represent the following classification, 
viz. : Special helps in ministerial work, general helps 
to knowledge, helps to thought and mental growth, 

A. Special helps in ministerial ivork. 

This class will include the holy Scriptures in all 
the languages with which the individual is acquainted, 



264 REQUISITES OF A MINISTER'S LIBRARY. 

and a suitable apparatus of biblical study, such as 
grammars, lexicons, biblical dictionaries, and one or 
more good commentaries. To these may be added 
standard works on the leading topics of theology, 
including a few volumes of choice sermons and min- 
isterial biography. 

B. Helps to gene7'al knozvledge. 

Under this head may be grouped books of refer- 
ence, encyclopedias, choice specimens of literature, 
and standard histories, not omitting scientific works 
of a high character. 

C. Helps to thought and mental grozuth. 

In this department the old and the new should be 
fitly blended. If one can not afford to omit the old 
standards, such as Plato, Butler, and Milton, neither 
can he wisely dispense with the best thinkers of his 
own day. Very narrow and one-sided are the views 
of those advisers wdio, like Shedd, would confine min- 
isters almost exclusively to the old standards, and in 
their extreme partisanship of a few books that have 
stood the test of time would make it a quasi-heresy 
to read any others. While there would be danger in 
attempting to read all the issues of the modern press, 
it would be an equal folly to close one's eyes blindly 
upon the agencies by which the present generation is 
affected for better and for worse. Certain it is that 
the pastor who holds himself aloof frorn mental con- 
tact with the representative minds of his own age can 
not expect to sustain a favorable comparison with 
them, or to make himself felt on the questions which 
most agitate the people among w^hom he lives, moves, 
and has his being. "These ought ye to have done. 



A LIBRARY IN OUTLINE. 265 

and not to leave the other undone," would be a motto 
applicable to this subject. In harmony with it, the 
enlightened pastor will seek to profit by the best aids 
to thought which both ancient and modern times 
aftbrd, and in doing so he will give some attention to 
the best class of reviews, both home and foreign. 

D. Miscellany. 

For convenience, let there be this fourth depart- 
ment in the pastor's library, in which he may place 
good books not strictly belonging to the other classes. 

Now, whoever has these several departments of lit- 
erature judiciously represented, even by a small num- 
ber of books, has a good library, but a library which, 
like an army composed of skeleton regiments, will 
require filling up and enlargement from time to time, 
but which, increased on the same principles, will 
always be growing better. 

It is worthy of remark that pastors of the present 
day have two classes of advantages in reference to 
procuring libraries which were not possessed by their 
predecessors of former times. One grows out of the 
art of stereotyping, by means of which all the more 
valuable books are sure to be kept in market, and not 
liable, as formerly, to get "out of print." Knowing 
this, a young minister can arrange to buy books when 
he needs them, and avoid the inconvenience of in- 
curring expense before his actual wants occur. The 
other is an advantage of the mail service, by which a 
person in any part of the country can promptly secure 
any book by inclosing to the publisher, in a postal 
order or otherwise, the retail price. Hence no one 
need await a visit to the metropolis or any focal point 

23 



266 CHURCH LIBRARIES. 

of trade before securing a book that he wants, but 
may order at pleasure, in the moral certainty of being 
supplied as well as if being present at the publisher's 
counter to select. 

These allusions to a pastor's library should not be 
closed without an important suggestion as to the duty 
of Churches. Since few pastors are able to purchase 
as many books as they ought to have subject to their 
consultation, Church libraries ought to be established 
wherever practicable, in which, for the joint benefit 
of successive pastors and the Sunday-school teachers 
of the Church, an ample and increasing collection of 
valuable religious books may be accumulated. As 
further reference will be made to this subject in sub- 
sequent chapters, it is only necessary to add here 
that pastors may, in justice alike to themselves and 
their successors, devise plans and institute measures 
for establishing Church libraries, and also for increas- 
ing and perpetuating such libraries wherever found in 
existence. Neither in a Church library nor a pastor's 
library should any place be reserved for ephemeral 
publications. The world is too full of such publica- 
tions, and both ministers and Christian people gener- 
ally need to be on their guard against wasting time 
on not merely fictitious literature, but also on that 
perpetual rehash of material which forms the chief 
staple of many magazines and other periodicals. 

There is, however, one species of ephemeral publi- 
cation, from which a clergyman can not wisely with- 
Jiold a proper share of attention. The present is an 
age of newspapers, and a public teacher who does not 
read the newspapers is in danger of being ignorant 



NEWSPAPERS. 267 

of many things which he ought not only to under- 
stand, but to use for moral and religious ends. The 
newspaper press of America, spiced and stimulated as 
it is by constant telegraphic communication with all 
parts of the world, is an ever-acting and powerful 
educator of society. Unfortunately, however, its in- 
fluences are not always good. No minister can un- 
dertake to read all that any newspaper will say, much 
less to correct all the errors which may be inculcated, 
intentionally or otherwise, by the newspaper press. 
Nevertheless,* there are occasions in which it be- 
comes the pulpit to speak out decidedly on the great 
questions of the day, and still more frequent occa- 
sions in which the most pertinent and forcible illus- 
trations of sacred truth may be drawn from current 
events familiar to the public mind. Besides, both 
secular and religious papers record numerous facts 
illustrative of God's providences, and the conse- 
quences of human conduct, which form material for 
religious instruction all the more valuable for their 
recency and freshness. 

While the value of historical knowledge in reference 
to the past is universally conceded, the importance of 
a knowledge of current history can not be questioned. 
Indeed, the relations of the past to the present, and 
the present to the past, form a topic of ever-increasing 
interest to thoughtful minds, and they certainly can 
not be comprehended by one who ignores the news- 
paper. But let no pastor waste time upon newspapers, 
on whatever pretense. By lax habits, in reference to 
ephemeral reading, it is possible, and with some com- 
mon, to throw away many precious hours in reading 



268 USE OF EXTRACTS. 

details of news, correspondence, and extracts, which 
ought to be passed over with the merest glance. 
Two things are necessary to profitable newspaper 
Habits of read- reading — discrimination and rapidity. The 
'"=• first will sternly refiase to occupy time with 

what has not an adequate measure of importance for 
present reading ; and the second will dispatch even 
that with the greatest haste compatible with a just 
comprehension of the facts or principles involved. 

One reason why newspapers are allowed to beguile 
a disproportionate share of time is found in the idea, 
that unless they are read at once they will disappear 
and be lost. There is a remedy for this error, not 
found, as some have supposed, in a laboriously pre- 
pared and voluminous scrap-book, but in a classified 
collection of extracts. It is rarely practicable for in- 
dividuals to preserve files of newspapers ; and, when 
preserved, such files are usually of more trouble than 
value, from their bulk and lack of harmonious arrange- 
ment. The remedy referred to may be secured by a 
free use of scissors. As newspapers are compiled by 
the use of scissors, so let them be dissected by the 
same instrument whenever their possessor finds in 
them articles he may wish to use again. But to avoid 
a confused heap of clippings, let the young pastor in 
particular adopt a plan of classification corresponding 
to his ideas of conveuience and utility. If no better 
mode occurs to his mind, let him label a sufiicient 
number of large envelopes with such titles as the fol- 
lowing : Admonitions, Biblical criticisms, Ediccation, 
Examples of goodness, Happy deaths. Horrors of war. 
iriustrations of doctrine, Infidelity, Missionary factSy 



INDEXES. 269 

Parental obligations, Scientific discoveries, Temperance, 
Youthful piety, etc. When extracts are made, let 
them be distributed to their proper compartments, 
and let the packages of extracts be kept for consulta- 
tion and use whenever wanted. Subsequent exam- 
inations will, from use or otherwise, cause some of 
the articles to be thrown out, and thus the collection, 
although frequently enlarged, may be kept within con- 
venient space. 

Some plan of this kind, wrought out by an individ- 
ual for himself, will be of more practical value to him 
than encyclopedias of anecdote and illustration se- 
lected in a similar manner by others, but used in 
common by thousands of persons. This plan will 
also have the twofold advantage of enabling him to 
defer the detailed reading of many articles till the 
time when they may be of special use, and also of 
having matter collected in advance for subjects and 
occasions likely to arise in the course of future duty 
and study. 

As to the contents of books they ought always to 
be easily accessible from their indexes, and one's gen- 
eral knowledge of their character ; hence the old sys- 
tem of a commonplace-book filled with copied extracts, 
or of an Index Rerum with multiplied references, can 
not be considered worthy of recommendation, unless 
for some specific purpose. A practical man's Index 
Rerum must be in his own mind. 

But there is an additional mode in which pastors 
may most appropriately accumulate material for in- 
struction, illustration, and admonition, which may be 
of more specific value to them than the contents of 



2/0 



A PASTOR'S RECORD-BOOK, 



either newspapers or books. Each pastor should have 
his personal record-book, in which to record, from 
time to time, incidents from his own experience and 
observation, that may serve good purposes in conver- 
sation, in Sunday-school and platform addresses, and 
occasionally in sermons. Ultimately, a selection of 
these same incidents may be found worthy of publi- 
cation, and become a useful contribution to current 
religious literature. As a sample of what may grow 
out of such a record, see volumes entitled, " A Pas- 
tor's Sketches," first and second series, by the late Dr. 
Spencer, of Brooklyn ; also " Sketches from the Study 
of an Itinerant," by Dr. A. Stevens. The pastor's 
record-book should be kept separate from his diary, 
and also from his pocket memorandums of visits, 
calls, etc. All these will furnish data for the record 
proposed in which time and space should be taken to 
delineate details while they are fresh in his recollec- 
tion. Otherwise as incidents multiply in the course 
of years, facts may become blended and confused in 
memory, to the injury of one's mind, and possibly to 
the prejudice of his veracity. If the chronological 
order be observed, an alphabetical or classified index 
will render its contents easily available. 

The list of a pastor's personal duties would not be 
complete without including his domestic and religious 
obligations. But as these subjects will be discussed 
in chapters relating to the family and to society, 
further reference to them in this connection will be 
omitted. 



PASTORAL AFFOINTMENT. 2/1 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE DUTIES OF A PASTOR— PUBLIC— OFFICIAL. 

THE public duties of a pastor are so numerous 
and important as to require treatment under 
several distinct heads. With a view to presenting 
them appropriately, it is proposed to adopt a serial 
order, to be extended through several succeeding 
chapters, in which the pastor will be contemplated 
in the various relations which it is necessary for him 
to sustain at the present period of Christian history 
and Church progress. 

It seems proper to begin with duties growing out 
of the pastoral relation itself That relation can not 
exist, in its full sense, apart from a pre-existent and 
organized Church, which, in some form, accepts and 
recognizes the pastor as its spiritual overseer. A 
minister of the gospel, in the discharge of his duty 
as an evangelist, may organize a Church, and become 
its pastor by the act of Christian persons accepting 
Church membership under his own ministry of the 
word. From that nucleus he may proceed to organize 
other Churches, of which' he or other ministers may 
take the pastoral charge. Again, several Churches 
may become affiliated under the joint pastorate of two 
or more ministers. But without pausing to consider 



272 VARIED CONDITIONS. 

the possible variations in which the pastoral office 
may exist, it will now be assumed that a divinely 
called and duly ordained minister of the gospel has 
been appointed in some mutually recognized form as 
the pastor of a body of Christian believers associated 
together in Church fellowship. 

Previously, this minister was only a pastor in rank 
Pastoral reia- 01" thcory, llkc a gcucral without a com- 
tion completed, j^^nd. Now hc bccomcs invested with 
the official charge of souls, and is a pastor in fact. 
Previously, the Church, though duly organized as to 
its internal structure, was without a visible head, and 
lacked regular preaching, together with the official 
administration of the ordinances of God's house. The 
appointment now made completes the relations both 
of pastor and flock, and consummates the scriptural 
plan of a Church of Christ. A normal pastorate hav- 
ing been thus established, the pastor, in harmony with 
his personal obligations to God, owes his first duties 
to his Church. From that Church he is entitled to 
expect and to receive support, both material and 
moral. With it he must be in harmonious and effi- 
cient co-operation for all purposes of Christian activ- 
ity, so that by mutual diligence and faithfulness both 
may expect to receive the divine blessing in their 
endeavors to promote the spread of truth and the 
salvation of men. 

As such a pastorate may exist under various forms 
of Church government, its duties may be more or less 
modified by the minor variations of different Church 
constitutions, without impairing in any degree its 
normal and representative character. With this con- 



AUTHOR'S POINT OF VIEW. 273 

cession, to any who prefer a different mode of Church 
government, the writer will hereafter feel free to make 
specific reference to his own, and to discuss pastoral 
duties as they ought to be practiced in accordance 
with the polity and usages of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, using technical phraseology whenever it may 
seem to be required. 

In taking this course no apologetic attitude is 
deemed necessary. The character and peculiarities 
of Methodism have been already fully vindicated, 
both by discussion and by events. From a portion 
of those events it may be seen that the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, during the first century of its his- 
tory, has had no occasion to borrow luster from the 
successes of any other Church since the days of the 
apostles. A period has therefore been reached when, 
for its own sake, not less than for the advantage of the 
thousands of young men who may be expected to be- 
come its pastors in coming years, a somewhat full 
delineation of its pastoral requirements and necessi- 
ties seems called for. Nor is it believed that an at- 
tempt to meet this requisition will diminish, either in 
candor or breadth of view, the general discussion 
already introduced. On the other hand, some practi- 
cal exemplification of the theory of the pastoral office 
seems necessary, and the author thinks proper to give 
it by reference to a modern and efficient Church or- 
ganization with which he is familiar. His course in 
this regard is at least in harmony with that of other 
writers on the subject, who have, with few or no ex- 
ceptions, sought, directly or indirectly, to elucidate 
their several views of Churcli economy. 



2/4 ITINERANCY, 

By some it has been erroneously supposed, and 
recklessly asserted, that an itinerant ministry can not 
properly perform the duties of the pastoral office. 
Facts, however, prove that a well-regulated itinerancy, 
which is no more nor less than a system for the reg- 
ular distribution of ministerial labor, magnifies that 
office. Under the efficient administration of such a 
system, though ministers change and die, the pastoral 
office is perpetual. If, under the itinerant system, 
Churches do not elect their pastors, neither do they 
dismiss nor expel them. On the other hand, they 
accept and surrender the pastors who are sent to and 
from them with cheerfulness, considering the general 
good superior to their individual pleasure, although 
usually in harmony with it. Nothing is more certain 
than the fact that the million members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church consider their itinerant sys- 
tem of ministerial supply highly advantageous for 
them, however it may devolve the burden of frequent 
removals on the pastors themselves. 

Nevertheless, as this system also furnishes to min- 
isters appropriate fields of labor without subjecting 
them to embarrassing candidacies and indefinite 
delays, as it saves them the pain of constrained dis- 
missals by giving them new fields of labor at regular 
periods, and as it, without solicitation on their part, 
secures to them advancement in proportion to their 
merits, ministers themselves have just occasion to 
prize it also. Hence, as a matter of fact, both min- 
isters and people who understand, from experience, 
the actual working of the itinerancy, are more than 
contented with it, in the established conviction of its 



DIVINE GUIDANCE. 2/5 

preponderating advantages to the general interests of 
the Church. 

To the ministers who enter upon the system in its 
true spirit — that of committing their ways to the 
Lord, that he may direct their steps, and trusting 
him to do so through the economy of the Church — 
there is a pecuUar satisfaction in accepting pastoral 
appointments as a direct gift from the Lord. How- 
ever others may sneer at the idea, or seek, directly or 
indirectly, to accomplish personal ends, they stand 
firmly to the principle of awaiting, with calmness and 
confidence, direction from on high. Nor are they 
disappointed in the result. Take an example : 

A minister receives an appointment to a Church 
in which possibly he had not a single acquaintance, 
and whose members were equally unacquainted with 
him. But the Church to whose pastorate he is des- 
ignated, having the same confidence in the divine 
guidance through appropriate instrumentalities as he 
himself has, receives him as a messenger of the Lord, 
and welcomes him to the immediate discharge of his 
duties. Let us now consider those various branches 
of official duty which will require his attention. 

As soon as possible he needs to form a personal 
acquaintance with his Church as a whole, 

. Acquaintance. 

and its members in particular. He is not 
to remain a stranger, but to make himself at home 
^ithin his charge. He is not to look on as a specta- 
tor, but to enter as a participant into all the social, 
religious, and benevolent activities of the community 
of which he is to become a member, and the sooner 
he does so the better. Let him, therefore, from the 



2/6 PERSONAL RECOGNITION. 

first, lay aside all claims to ceremonious attention, 
considering that, whether others call on him or not, 
it is his duty to seek out and know them. 

This is a task which, to a young man naturally 
diffident, may seem formidable. But its difficulties 
are more apparent than actual. The new pastor may, 
from the first, count upon the sympathy of the peo- 
ple, and upon the fact that they are not less desirous 
of his acquaintance than he of theirs. Besides, the 
circle, once entered, naturally expands, and, with 
appropriate efi"ort, never ceases to enlarge. Each 
acquaintance formed, each friend acquired, gladly in- 
troduces him to other friends, who in turn multiply 
introductions in their several circles of association. 

Here let it be said, with emphasis, that the pastor 
should aim to know personally, and to be 

Recognition. . 

able to call by name at sight, every mem- 
ber of his Church, if not every regular attendant 
upon his congregation. It is both embarrassing to a 
pastor, and highly prejudicial to his influence, not to 
be able to recognize promptly any member of his 
charge. Some men expose themselves to this embar- 
rassment, and to more prejudice than they are aware 
of, by yielding to the weak notion or professing the 
ridiculous affectation that they can not remember 
names, and thus go through life wasting more time 
in making reiterated apologies than would have been 
necessary to discipline their minds to so easy and 
agreeable a task. The pastor having accepted the 
idea that he may and must know every member of his 
flock by name, each additional acquaintance formed 
becomes a step toward that desirable result. This, 



LISTS OF MEMBERS. 2/7 

followed by the habit of speaking to each one when- 
ever occasion offers, will confirm recollection, and 
make it possible to enlarge the circle of remembered 
acquaintances almost without limit. 

In a properly organized Church the facilities for 
securing information respecting the mem- 

Facilities, 

bers are so great that a new pastor, with 
a determined purpose, may in a very short time pos- 
sess himself of a general knowledge of the entire 
personnel of his flock. In -order to this, let him, 
immediately on arriving in his charge, consult the 
Church record. If that is properly kept he will find 
in it, besides other important items, a summary sketch 
of the past history of the Church, and a full list of 
all the of^cial members, another list of members as 
distributed in Church classes, and also a list of bap- 
tized children. 

An examination of these lists will show him the 
nature and extent of his task, and if either of the 
lists of members should also indicate their residences 
one of the principal difficulties of the case will disap- 
pear at once. The first reading of these lists will 
put him in possession of more or less names of fami- 
lies, concerning whom l^e should commence inquiries 
at the first opportunity. As soon thereafter as he 
can secure a meeting of the leaders and stewards he 
will find himself in the presence of persons to whom 
collectively every member of the Church is known, 
and by whom all his inquiries concerning individuals 
can be answered at once. If he should then engage 
the several leaders to attend him in making his first 
calls, so long as he may need guidance or introduc- 



278 FREQUENT MEETINGS. 

tions, and with their co-operation proceed to make 
calls as early as possible, he will be surprised at the 
little time necessary for forming personal acquaint- 
ance with a large community. If the various persons 
Multiplied in- in such a commuuity were only to be seen 
terviews. oucc, or cveu a few times, there would be 

less motive for the systematic measures recommended. 
But these are the very persons whom the pastor will 
expect to see in his congregations, his prayer-meet- 
ings, his social assemblies, and his daily walks dur- 
ing the whole term of his pastorate. Hence, having 
learned who they personally are, he will easily and 
almost insensibly continue to add to his knowledge 
of each one, and consequently to his ability of doing 
each one good. One who has not made the experi- 
ment can scarcely be aware of the great advantage 
which a pastor may secure from a prompt and general 
acquaintance with the members of his Church and 
congregation, whereas neglect of the duty thus show^n 
to be practicable in the highest degree may result in 
impressions that their new pastor is distant, or cer- 
emonious, or in some way less interested in their 
welfare than he ought to be — impressions which, if 
allowed to be made, may n(^ be easily removed, or 
may actually rear barriers in the way of his useful- 
ness at a time when he ought to have access to every 
heart. Such is the constitution of the human mind 
, that persons are always pleased to form 

Advantages of -^ _ •' *- 

first acquaint- ncw acquaintauces, and to pay respect to 

a stranger favorably introduced to them. 

Hence the best opportunities a pastor can ever have 

for becoming acquainted wdth his people occur soon 



COURTESY. 279 

after his arrival and during the earlier periods of his 
ministerial service among them. Then, if ever, he 
can introduce the Master to those who welcome the 
servant, and thus lay the foundation of a religious 
influence upon which he may hope to build during 
his whole sojourn in their midst. 

Whether a minister's term of service be longer 
or shorter in any community, he should consider it 
obligatory upon him to maintain, from first to last, 
habits of Christian sociality. He should have a kind 
and pertinent word, as well as a friendly recognition, 
for every one. It is only in this way that he can 
properly fulfill the apostolic precept, "Be courteous," 
which literally means, "Be friendly-minded." It cor- 
responds, moreover, to the proverb, "If a man would 
have friends, let him show himself friendly." Many 
ministers acknowledge the obligation of courtesy in 
their social intercourse who have not accustomed 
themselves to consider it a part of their official duty. 
For this reason the greater emphasis is here em- 
ployed. This principle — the law of kindness in his 
heart and on his tongue — is precisely what is needed 
to render a minister's official intercourse with his 
people an agency of spiritual good. A minister who 
illustrates the grace of Christian courtesy has been 
well sketched by another : 

"All his movements are as graceful as they are benevolent 
and kind. He eschews all awkwardness, all obtrusiveness, all 
indecent haste, all roughness of speech and manners. He 
wears an open, respectful, and gracious countenance. He con- 
verses with equal dignity, simplicity, and propriety. He listens 
with careful attention when another speaks, and regards with 
proper attention all that is said. His general appearance an(^ 



280 THE COURTEOUS PASTOR. 

habits are, if possible, such as to offend no one, but rather what 
are calculated to insure the approbation and attract the respect 
and affections of his people and the public. He is, in all re- 
spects and in all circumstances, a true Christian gentleman. 
Nor does he for once lay aside this character, in whatever duty 
or exigency of his pastorship. Does he instruct? It is not 
with haughtiness, and so as to convey to those instructed a 
painful sense of their inferiority. Does he reprove ? It is not 
with the scorpion's sting, but with 'the lip of kindness,' such as 
wins back the erring to the paths of righteousness. Must he 
inflict sorrow t It is always with reluctance, and with an unwa- 
vering eye to the good of the sufferer. Does he 'warn every 
one ?' It is not with the countenance and tones of a task-mas- 
ter, but with the gentleness of a lamb. Does he enter one and 
another house ? All his conduct there, to the last words he 
utters as he gives his blessing at departing, bespeaks him a 
well-bred man. Do others enter his own doors ? His smiling 
countenance, his unfeigned pleasure and good-will, his hearty 
welcome, his kind attentions, his gentlemanly bearing and pol- 
ished manners, all evince the genuine scholar in the lovely and 
heavenly principles of religion undefiled. Even as Paul, by his 
inoffensive and beautiful conduct he pleases ' all men in all 
things,' if that be possible, not seeking therein his own profit, 
but the profit of many, that they may be saved." * 

Ministers who illustrate the grace of courtesy as 
thus commended, with habitual reference to the pre- 
cept, " Condescend to men of low estate," are enabled 
to bestow priceless blessings on the poor and afflicted. 
Persons in prosperous circumstances are little aware 
of the value of kind words to those who are depressed 
with misfortune and tempted to write bitter things 
against themselves and their prospects. Few states 
of mind are more open to temptation, especially when 
such persons are led to think that no man cares for 
their souls. The multitude passes them heedlessly 

*Dr. C. Adams. See also Bishop Ames on Courtesy, Appendix B. 



KINDNESS TO THE POOR. 28 1 

by, men of business have other thoughts and cares, 
and if the man of God, through carelessness, mis- 
taken ideas of dignity, or any other cause, treats 
them with neglect, how can they avoid thinking 
themselves forsaken? If, on the other hand, he, like 
his divine Master, "goes about doing good," seeking 
and saving them that are lost, how many broken 
hearts can he cheer, how many sorrows solace, and 
how many afflicted souls can he point to the true 
source of consolation ! 

Young and weak Christians specially need frequent 
and kind attentions of this nature, and the pastor who 
renders them will find himself compensated a thou- 
sand-fold for any effort that may be necessary to 
acquire and maintain the habit of speaking kindly to 
every one, and of going out of his way to show 
Christian attention to those who are Hable to be 
neglected. 

The official meeting to which reference has been 
made not only affords the pastor great official heip- 
fecilities for extending his acquaintance in ^'^• 
the Church, but it introduces him to the inner work- 
ings of the whole organization and the actual admin- 
istration of its affairs. The leaders of classes, as 
pastoral assistants, may be expected collectively to 
know what is the spiritual condition of all the mem- 
bers of the Church, and prepared to report any who 
are neglectful of duty or disorderly in conduct, to- 
gether with any who may be sick or needy of relief 
The stewards are charged with the duty of furnish- 
ing relief to the poor, as well as of collecting and 
disbursing the current funds of the Church. The 

24 



282 RECEPTION OF MEMBERS. 

questions prescribed by the Cliurch Discipline to be 
asked by the pastor at meetings of the leaders and 
stewards have reference to various pastoral duties, 
some of which deserve special consideration. 

I. The reception of members. 

The economy of our Church devolves on pastors 
as an official duty the responsibility of admitting 
members, both on trial and into full connection. 
The Discipline, indeed, gives various cautions, and 
calls for the co-operative advice of leaders as a means 
of making it certain that none but suitable persons 
are admitted to either relation. Nevertheless, it im- 
plies that the authority of the act in all its forms is 
lodged where our Savior placed it, in the appointed 
overseer of the flock.* The propriety of maintaining 
the duty of receiving members as a pastoral function, 
in opposition to its surrender to the Church as a 
whole or to some part of it, was fully shown by Bish- 
ops Coke and Asbury in their notes appended to the 
Discipline of 1796.! The theory and true economy 
of our Church having been so well defined in the 
outset, and having been confirmed by a long and 
favorable experience, it is to be hoped that there will 

*This duty of officially admitting members to the Church, and the 
corresponding duty of excluding improper persons from the Church in 
accordance with scriptural precepts, these and nothing more are taught 
by Matthew xvi, 19, as may be understood from a just interpretation. 
The context and parallel passages show that our Lord addressed Simon 
Bar-Jona, not in his individual capacity, but as a representative of the 
disciples, employing, not literal, but highly figurative forms of expres- 
sion. To interpret the passage literally, as the Romanists do in order 
to maintain their theory as to "the power of the keys," is just as 
absurd as to predicate transubstantiation upon a similar interpretation 
of the figurative expression, "This is my body." 

tSee Appendix to Emory's History of the Discipline, pp. 358-361. 



PROBA TIONERS. 383 

be no departure from it in future. Yet it is to be 
confessed that some of our disciplinary changes have 
treated the point under consideration with less defi- 
niteness than is desirable. 

Assuming that the reception of members into the 
Church is an inalienable pastoral right and bounden 
duty, it is now desired to impress upon young pastors 
the grave responsibility of the task, together with 
some suggestions as to what it requires in practical 
detail. 

( I .) The enrollmeiit of probaiio7iers. As a term of 
probation with us, like the catechumenate in the 
ancient Church, is the door of entrance into Church 
communion and fellowship, every pastor among us 
should consider it his primary and urgent duty to 
enroll as many persons as probationers as he can, by 
all legitimate means, persuade to endeavor to flee 
from the wrath to come. In this view, while he 
should be diligent to pluck the aged "as brands from 
the burning," and, in fact, should overlook no class or 
condition of men, he should be specially mindful of 
baptized children and the youth of his Sunday-school. 

(2.) The care of probationers. Toward persons en- 
rolled in preliminary Church membership, he should 
employ all faithful dihgence to instruct them in the 
truth, and encourage them in the duties of religion, 
with a view to securing their steadfastness in the di- 
vine life and service. It can not be doubted that, 
from neglect or inattention at this point, our Church 
has suffered great loss, while many precious souls 
have been allowed to go back to '* the beggarly ele- 
ments of the world," who, by diligent watch-care, 



284 PASTORAL SOLICITUDE. 

might have been saved. Of the first importance in 
this branch of ministerial duty is an affectionate pas- 
toral solicitude, which should manifest itself in visits, 
in correspondence with individuals, and in special lec- 
tures, in which the privileges and duties of Church 
membership should be clearly set forth. Every pro- 
bationer should also have a copy of our Articles of 
Religion, and, when practicable, of the entire Dis- 
cipline placed in his hands for examination and pres- 
ervation. In addition to what a pastor can personally 
do in behalf of the young Christians in his Church, 
he should, by due inquiry and observation, make sure 
that each probationer has a proper leader and conge- 
nial class associations. The allotment of probation- 
ers and members to suitable classes is an official pas- 
toral responsibility, the importance of which is rarely 
considered, and never overestimated. In attending 
to it the pastor should not always be governed by 
the impulse of the individual, neither should he deem 
it so important to fill up vacant classes, nor to prorate 
members equally among the whole number of classes, 
as to have each individual under just the right influ- 
ence. There is no period in human life at which 
persons are more susceptible of good impressions 
than at the beginning of their career as professing 
Christians. Hence at that peculiar period it is of un- 
speakable importance that, by all appropriate means, 
their minds be enlightened, and their hearts en- 
deared to the Savior and the Church. 

(3.) Reception into fidl members Jiip. When, in due 
time, the act of reception into full membership in the 
Church is in order, it should be performed, not with 



ADMISSION TO FUIL MEMBERSHIP. 285 

cold formality, nor with seeming indifference, but 
rather with an affectionate interest and an impressive 
solemnity, appropriate to one of the most important 
transactions of human life, which also has a direct 
reference to the life immortal. This act should be 
preceded by faithful, and if possible repeated, conver- 
sations, in which queries should be freely solved, and 
attention called to the nature and solemnity of the 
vows about to be assumed. 

2. The administration of baptism. 

The administration of the rite of baptism is an im- 
portant ministerial duty, pertaining more especially, 
though not exclusively, to the office of pastor. It is 
an obligation of the pastor to exhort parents to con- 
secrate their children to God in this holy ordinance, 
and, in the act of their so doing, to charge them sol- 
emnly with the duties pertaining to the domestic 
instruction of their offspring, in whatever relates to 
Christian knowledge and practice. 

It devolves on the pastor, also, to "preserve a full 
and accurate register of the names of all the baptized 
children within his pastoral care." This rule implies 
that such children are entitled to certificates of re- 
moval, and to reception and enrollment in the charges 
to which they remove. By this means they should be 
kept under continued pastoral watch-care, up to the 
period when they may assume a full and voluntary 
connection with the Church. 

The baptism of adults who have not been previ- 
ously baptized usually takes place during the period 
of Church probation, and consequently calls for sim- 
ilar instruction in reference to the design of the ordi- 



286 A PRIMARY OBLIGATION. 

nance and the tenor of baptismal vows. Through 
inadvertence, many pastors have fallen into the error 
of deferring baptism till near the close of the can- 
didate's probation. Wherever such a practice has 
obtained, it ought to be corrected without delay. 
All scripture analogy, and all the proprieties of the 
case indicate that baptism should be one of the first 
acts associated with a public Christian profession. 
The baptism of the three thousand at Jerusalem, of 
the Ethiopian eunuch by Philip, and of the Philippian 
jailer and his family by Paul, not only show that bap- 
tism was an initial ordinance of the New Testament 
Church, but that the apostles administered it in im- 
mediate sequence of a profession of faith. Pastors, 
therefore, should not fall into the mistake of consid- 
ering our probationary period as designed to determine 
the propriety of administering baptism to candidates. 
Its great object is to induce and enable persons to be- 
come truly Christians, preparatory to their assuming 
the full obligations of Church membership ; and, as 
the Christian ordinances are means of grace, we 
should administer them to suitable candidates when 
they most of all need their confirming aid as auxiliary 
to their religious welfare. 

Only in those cases where persons are perplexed in 
regard to the mode of baptism, should this rite be 
deferred ; and, since our Church gives the liberty of 
choice as to the mode, it is usually best to urge 
prompt decision in regard to that. 

3. The administration of the Lord's-Supper. 

The reception of the eucharist logically follows the 
rite of baptism, and only in rare and exceptional cases 



CHRISTIAN CONFIRMATION. 28/ 

should be allowed to precede it. As an ordinance of 
the highest religious solemnity it imposes on a pastor 
the duty of careful consideration as to the character 
he himself maintains, and the frames of mind in which 
he administers this holy sacrament. It also requires 
him to give suitable instruction and faithful admoni- 
tions to the people lest any bring themselves into con- 
demnation by partaking unworthily of the Lord's body. 

4. Confirmation. 

While we do not, like the Greek and Roman 
Churches, regard confirmation as a sacrament, nor, 
like some Protestant Churches, as a ceremonial rite, 
only to be administered by bishops, we do regard it as 
a high pastoral obligation to confirm all young Chris- 
tians and true converts in the faith of the gospel and 
in the practice of Christian duties. This is what was 
done by Paul and Barnabas, in Lystra, Iconium, and 
Antioch, " confirming the souls of the disciples, and 
exhorting them to continue in the faith ;"* and also 
by Paul and Silas, when they went through Syria and 
Cilicia, " confirming the Churches."! While, there- 
fore, ceremonial confirmation is of no value, and often 
becomes an actual injury, from being represented and 
supposed to confer spiritual advantages, for which 
there is no warrant either in reason or Scripture, yet 
the moral and spiritual confirmation, which is the ap- 
propriate duty of every true pastor, can not be too 
highly estimated, or made the subject of too much 
judicious and anxious efibrt. Let every pastor, there- 
fore, not only use the initial, but every succeeding 
sacrament as an occasion for the spiritual confirma- 

* Acts xiv, 22. t Acts XV, 41. 



288 A GEN cms OF CONFIRMA TION. 

tion, especially of young members of the Church. As 
agencies in this important work special sermons, lec- 
tures, and private conversations should be employed 
for instruction and religious impression, while the 
duties of prayer, fasting, and self-examination should 
be earnestly inculcated as auxiliary to the highest 
spiritual profit of every one. Nothing more surely 
betokens spiritual languor than a formal or careless 
administration and reception of the holy sacraments ; 
and upon the pastor, as their authorized administrator, 
it depends, in a great degree, to control the important 
question. Whether these appointed means of grace 
are to be the " savor of life unto life, or of death 
unto death." 

The duties above referred to indirectly but clearly 
The Church imply the pastoral obligation of great famil- 
record. iarlty with the names, Church relations, and 

Christian character of those composing his flock. The 
proper fulfillment of that obligation is in harmony 
with the pastoral duty of keeping the Church records, 
while proper personal attention to the latter greatly 
facilitates an accurate knowledge, not merely of the 
names, but of the spiritual condition and religious 
faithfulness of tjie different members of the Church. 
It must be admitted that our Discipline, although 
specific on most subjects, lacks definiteness in refer- 
ence to Church records. In the order of business for 
quarterly conferences, it directs the presiding elder to 
inquire, "Are the Church records properly kept?" 
But it does not say who is to answer the question, 
nor in what manner said records are to be kept. 

From the periodical asking of the question in an 



DISCIPLINARY REQUISITIONS. 289 

official meeting, to which a traveling minister is not 
amenable, it might be inferred that some lay officer 
of the Church — the recording steward, for example — 
is responsible for the keeping of the Church records. 
But the duties of that officer are defined to be the 
recording of the minutes of the quarterly conference 
"in a book kept for that purpose." At most, those 
minutes can only be considered a special department 
of the proper records of the Church. 

Among the miscellaneous duties of a preacher, the 
following is assigned a primary place : " To take a 
regular catalogue of the societies in towns and cities, 
as they live in the streets." Such a catalogue, which 
it would appear is not required for country places, 
answers to only a very meager idea of a Church rec- 
ord. Hence, some have queried whether it did not 
refer to a private list, by which the minister is guided 
in his visits, and which he passes over to his suc- 
cessor as a part of the particular account of his circuit, 
called for by the next paragraph. 

In the section defining the relation of baptized chil- 
dren to the Church, the Discipline directs that " the 
pfeacher in charge shall preserve a full and accurate 
register of the names of all the baptized children 
within his pastoral care ; the dates of their birth, bap- 
tism, their parentage, and places of residence." 

According to the spirit of this provision, a perma- 
nent baptismal record should be kept in every charge, 
in which each administrator is to enter the record of 
baptisms as they are performed. Besides, each pastor 
should ascertain and record the names, ages, etc., of 
baptized children who have come within his pastoral 

25 



290 A PASTORAL RESPONSIBILITY. 

charge, by certificate of removal or otherwise, since 
the date of their baptism. 

Among his other specified duties, each preacher in 
charge is required to report at every quarterly confer- 
ence " the names of those who have been received into 
the Church or excluded therefrom during the quarter ; 
also the names of those who have been received or 
dismissed by certificate, and of those who have died 
or have withdrawn from the Church." 

He is further " to take an exact account of all the 
matters specified" in the list of statistics which it is 
his duty to report to the annual conference, " and also 
to register the marriages and baptisms." 

It is true that the account and reporting called for 
might be done from data furnished by some one else ; 
and we understand that, in some Churches, laymen 
take exclusive charge of the Church records, and that 
some ministers content themselves with officially re- 
porting statistics furnished them at second hand. 

But according to the spirit of the Discipline, and 
the nature of the case, the preacher in charge is per- 
sonally responsible for a full pastoral record, and 
ought, in every possible case, to keep it with his own 
hand. If any doubt could possibly exist on this point, 
it would vanish before those episcopal decisions and 
acts of the General Conference, in reference to with- 
drawal, which recognize the entry of the preacher in 
charge upon the Church records as decisive of mem- 
bership or non-membership. 

Essential to a complete Church record are at least 
the following departments : i. A record of probation- 
ers ; 2. An alphabetical list of members ; 3. A list 



ESSENTIAL DEPARTMENTS. 29 1 

of the several classes ; 4. A record of baptisms ; 5. 
Of marriages. Deaths may be entered opposite the 
names of individuals in the alphabetical list. Books 
specially adapted to the purpose are now obtainable 
at our depositories. 

In Great Britain this class of duties, at least for 
the national Churches, is regulated by civil law. The 
blank books are prepared by the royal printer, parishes 
are obliged to provide them, and ministers to keep 
them in iron chests, and to make entries of baptisms, 
deaths, and burials within seven days, under penalties. 

In Churches like ours, supported on the voluntary 
system, moral motives only can be brought to bear. 
But fortunately motives of that character abound. In 
our pastoral relations we are sometimes called on to 
verify marriages, deaths, and baptisms, in respect to 
pecuniary and civil considerations, and these, in addi- 
tion to the purely religious and ecclesiastical advan- 
tages of properly kept Church records, should suffice 
to secure due attention to these duties. 

The special uses of Church records may be con- 
sidered first with reference to the advantage of pas- 
tors themselves. As already suggested, one of the 
first duties of a preacher in charge, on reaching 
his appointment, is to consult the records of the 
Church whose superintendence he is about to assume. 
If these have been properly kept, they will teach him 
lessons of essential importance in reference to his 
immediate and future work. By means of them he 
will be able, in the shortest time, to learn the names, 
residences, condition in life, and Church relations of 
all his members. By a glance backward he may often 



292 ADVANTAGES TO A NEW PASTOR. 

gather a definite idea of the religious history of in- 
dividuals and families. By examining the list of 
probationers he will see who are yet on trial, and, 
consequently, who are especially entitled to his per- 
sonal attention. Prompt and affectionate manifesta- 
tions of interest in the recent converts of his charge 
will greatly endear him to them individually, and re- 
move that feeling of distance and reserve which, 
without effort on his part, is sure to embarrass his 
influence. At this point lies one of the most weighty 
objections to the itinerancy, that of its peremptorily 
sundering the relations which subsist between a pas- 
tor and his spiritual children. The newly appointed 
minister who sets himself upon ceremony, and makes 
no calls until he is called upon, gives currency to this 
objection, and often lays the foundation of serious 
prejudices against his Church, not unfrequentJy cre- 
ating incurable alienation from it. But he that with 
the warm heart of a true pastor searches out recent 
converts, and those w^ho are on trial in the Church, 
adopts them as his own children in the Lord, and 
cares for them tenderly, takes away all force from the 
objection, and in a very brief time secures to himself 
the influence that his predecessor enjoyed before him. 
The same obligation springs out of the list of bap- 
tized children. Before commencing his pastoral visits, 
the minister should study it as a directory, so as to 
be prepared to recognize all whose names are there 
enrolled, in the families to which they belong. He 
should also be on the alert to make appropriate addi- 
tions to it from those who have removed within his 
pastoral care, or who have been previously overlooked, 



MEANS OF ACQUAINTANCE. 293 

seeking, on all appropriate occasions, to have direct 
religious conversation with these lambs of the flock. 
In the discharge of such duties the pastorate will 
gain strength continually ; whereas, in their neglect, 
the prosperity of a Church will not fail to decline 
from the periodical changes of its ministers. 

The Church records should not only be examined 
by tlie pastor in private, but they should be made the 
subject of special inquiry in the leaders' meeting. 
Any thing that the new preacher can not readily 
comprehend will there probably find explanation. In 
that connection he should also enter into a thorough 
examination of the class-books of the several leaders, 
ascertaining the habits of individual members with 
reference to religious duty, and thus becoming pre- 
pared to encourage or "reprove, rebuke, and exhort" 
in his intercourse with individuals. 

A pastor who has thus possessed himself of the 
instruction suggested by the Church records is no 
longer a stranger in a strange community. He feels 
that, in a great degree, he knows his ground, and, 
occupying it as he ought, he may in a short time 
wield the full measure of pastoral influence. Such 
being his introduction to the records of the Church, 
he should recognize the importance of frequently and 
personally revising it, and especially of putting it in 
perfect order at the end of each conference year. 

For the benefit of the people it may now be sug- 
gested that, in addition to the permanent manuscript 
records of the Church, it is well to publish annually, 
in a neat pamphlet, a summary of that record for cir- 
culation. In cities and large villages printed direc- 



294 



PRINTED DIRECTORIES. 



tories will usually be advantageous far beyond their 
cost. Some of the advantages to be derived from 
them are these: 

1. They form a convenient vehicle for a pastoral 
address, in a form and connection not likely to be 
soon lost sight of. 

2. They tend to interest the members, young and 
old, in Church affairs. 

3. They tend to promote acquaintance between 
members of the Church, and also accessions to the 
Church, in various ways. 

4. They are especially useful as a card of invita- 
tion to strangers, and a means of direction to various 
Church services, which may not only be distributed 
by the pastor, but by his coadjutors in various spheres 
of Christian activity. 

5. By publishing the names of official members 
and committees public sanction is given to their 
appointment, and the task of any who are diffident 
is made lighter. 

6. Such a publication on the part of a Church 
challenges respect from those within and without by 
giving religious affairs the prominence they deserve. 

7. A collection of these annual issues will form, in 
due time, a valuable history of the Church they rep- 
resent, and will hand down to posterity many inter- 
esting facts that might otherwise be forgotten. 

For the guidance of any young pastor who may 
wish to publish a Church record and directory in the 
most useful form we will indicate what ought to be its 
contents, using figures for designation rather than to 
prescribe an invariable order: i. A historical sketch. 



RIGHT MEN IN THE RIGHT PLACES. 



295 



2. Pastor's address. 3. Officers and committees of the 
Church. 4. Officers and teachers (possibly scholars) 
of the Sunday-school. 5. Times and places of public 
and social worship. 6. Alphabetical list of members, 
with their residences, indicating by figures the classes 
to which they severally belong, and by asterisks who 
are probationers. To the above items may be added, 
at discretion, a financial exhibit, a list of benevolent 
contributions, and any thing else of special local inter- 
est. In every case care should be taken to condense 
the matter into a compact and attractive form, and 
to provide in advance for the expense of publication. 
The appointment of class-leaders and the nomina- 
tion of other Church officers is a highly responsible 
official duty of a pastor. The Discipline requires 
the preacher in charge ''to appoint all the leaders, 
to change them when he sees it necessary, and to 
examine each of them with all possible exactness 
at least once a quarter concerning his method of 
meeting a class." This rule, based upon the idea 
already expressed, is designed to secure assistance, 
not antagonism, in the pastoral work. Hence the sole 
authority for appointments and changes of that class 
of Church officers is lodged in the pastor himself 
To exercise this prerogative wisely will require close 
discernment of capacity, and the power of enlisting 
the best talent of the Church in active co-operation 
with the pastorate. In like manner the nomination 
of stewards, trustees, and the various standing com- 
mittees required in an efficient Church will devolve 
on the pastor the responsibility of appreciating not 
merely the religious worth, but the personal adapta- 



296 AN UNHAPPY TENDENCY. 

tion of various individuals for specific duties. Great 
generals have been distinguished for the faculty of 
selecting the right men for the right places. Great 
success in the Christian pastorate is largely depend- 
ent on the same faculty. 

The preservation of peace and harmony in a Church 
The pastor a ^-ud commuuity is another high and official 
peace-maker. responsibility of a pastor. In few aspects 
does human nature show more conclusive proofs of 
the fall than in the common tendency to strife and 
discord. Beautiful pictures are often drawn of the 
innocence, loveliness, and purity of childhood. Yet 
how often do even children disagree and fail into col- 
lisions with each other and those about them ! It is 
very necessary that parental restraint guard and con- 
trol this tendency in the young, and that conscientious 
heed be given to the apostolic caution, "Ye parents, 
provoke not your children to wrath." 

Not merely from ungoverned tempers in childhood, 
but from the frailty and sinfulness of men at all peri- 
ods of life, how common are disagreements and con- 
tentions in the varied circumstances in which human 
beings meet! How many families have been dis- 
turbed and divided by this cause ! What discomforts 
and bickerings have been introduced into neighbor- 
hoods, what divisions and contentions into commu- 
nities, what partisan bitterness into political and 
national affairs, and, finally, what bloody wars, with 
their untold horrors, have taken place between tribes 
and nations as a consequence of the discordance of 
those who ought to have dwelt together in peace and 
love ! From the murder of Abel by his brother down 



THE ONE REMEDY. 



297 



to the present hour, from the borders of Eden to the 
ends of the earth, how has human passion sought to 
gratify itself in acts of malevolence and revenge, and, 
as a consequence, what miseries and wretchedness have 
been inflicted upon our race ! 

For this unhappy proclivity of our fallen nature, 
and for all the evils attendant upon its action, Chris- 
tianity was designed as a sovereign remedy. Hence 
the blessed Savior was denominated the " Prince of 
peace." He also indicated an ever-present and prom- 
inent duty of his disciples when he directed and en- 
couraged them to be peace-makers, saying, "Blessed 
are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the 
children of God." 

How early in the history of the Church itself, and 
even among the chief apostles, was the necessity of 
the peace-maker's office indicated, and how often in 
the subsequent history of the Church has there been 
need for its exercise ! Indeed, when we inquire into 
the causes of the slow progress of Christianity in the 
earth, few more significant reasons can be given than 
that the Church has too often been like "a house 
divided against itself," wasting by internal strife en- 
ergies that ought to have been united and acting- 
together for the evangelization of the world. Even 
now, when persecution for opinion's sake is almost 
unknown, when general charity prevails, and great 
progress has been made toward the unity of Chris- 
tian sentiment, the moral power of the Church is 
greatly weakened by a too common lack of warm and 
practical brotherly love. In how many thousands of 
nominally Christian communities petty quarrels exist, 



298 THE PASTOR AS A PEACE-MAKER. 

not only to disturb the peace of the parties them- 
selves, but of their mutual friends ! In how many 
Churches secret or open antipathies are fostered, 
in how many bosoms resentments are nourished 
and constantly in danger of breaking forth to do 
the evil without which they are secretly working 
within ! 

In order to exert the influence of a peace-maker 
an individual must himself cultivate the purest char- 
ity toward all men. He must be an example of the 
indwelling power of that peace which passeth all un- 
derstanding. How weighty, then, will be his words, 
how influential hi§ conduct ! How effectually will he 
be able to cast oil upon the troubled waters of strife ! 
With what sweetness and gentleness will he be en- 
abled to assuage the acerbities of passion, and to 
bring conflicting elements into harmony! Especially 
will the peace-maker be solicitous to prevent the 
beginnings of strife, which are as the letting out of 
waters. Before the harsh word is said, before the 
rash act is committed, he will, if possible, bring 
kindly influences to bear and effect reconciliation. 

On Christian pastors, in an eminent sense, does 
the responsibility rest of cultivating the qualities and 
performing the duties of the peace-maker. Of what 
small avail will be learning and eloquence in the 
pulpit, and how will the power of Christian truth be 
neutralized before the world, if jarrings and strife 
divide the Church ! How will the ways of Zion be 
made to mourn if, on account of m.utual dislike or 
jealousy, few come to her solemn feasts ! How will 
the best energies of the Church be paralyzed if, on 



WISE PRECAUTIONS. 



299 



any pretext, internal feuds are allowed to prey upon 
her peace! 

Not only from prudential motives, but from the 
authority which God has given him, it is the duty of 
the overseer of the flock to endeavor, by all possible' 
means, to remove all such stumbling-blocks. The 
task will often demand his highest wisdom and his 
most prayerful and persevering energy. To have any 
well-grounded hope of accompUshing it, it will be 
essential that he avoid all partisan feehng himself 
He must rise to the position of a just and impartial 
arbitrator. He must know how to address men, and 
be able to command their respect as well. He must 
know how to appeal to the conscience without excit- 
ing opposition and prejudice. Especially must he be 
able to induce all parties to make concessions when 
necessary — and, if need be, confessions — for the sake 
of the cause and body of Christ. To accomplish 
these results will often require the sacrifice of time 
and convenience, and the exercise of much patience. 
But these are small offerings to be laid on the shrine 
of peace — small efforts, and hardly to be named in 
comparison with the blessedness of the peace-maker. 

While the timely efforts and kindly influence of a 
good pastor, coupled with the appropriate cinuch disci- 
co-operation he may often secure, will ^'^'"^• 
forestall many evils and heal many breaches, yet so 
long as **it must needs be that offenses come" there 
will sometimes arise occasions for Church discipline 
in the form of arbitrations. Church trials, censure, 
suspension, and expulsion. In all such proceedings 
a pastor's duties are both responsible and critical. In 



300 ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 

order to their appropriate discharge he should under- 
stand well the principles of discipline and judicature 
which are recognized in the laws and usages of the 
Church. He should also be careful to take all appro- 
priate steps with the mildness and firmness which 
pure motives and a sense of great responsibility ought 
always to prompt. 

If from the law applicable to any case, or the 
authorized comments on such law, the young pastor 
can not determine what steps he ought to take, let 
him have recourse to the advice of his presiding elder 
or bishop, or both, so as to proceed at once legally 
and prudently. In addition to acquiring an intelligent 
conception of what he ought to do, the pastor should 
maintain an unquestionable impartiality, coupled with 
such a supreme regard for the purity of the Church 
as will deprive of its sting any act of severity which, 
as an executive officer, it may be his duty to perform. 
Especially in the extreme penalty of the expulsion of 
a member of the Church, both the manner and the 
spirit in which the act is performed should demon- 
strate love to the offender, however the offense may 
demand public reprehension. 

Even the official act of dismissing members of the 
Church by certificates is not without its 

Dismissals. 

responsibilities. Members in good stand- 
ing about to remove have the right to demand letters 
certifying their membership and according them to 
other Churches. But the issue of such letters is 
always in the implied expectation that they will be 
presented when opportunity is secured. Nevertheless, 
members have the power to withhold their certificates 



PERSONAL INTRODUCTIONS. 3OI 

from presentation, a power which is often used to 
their great spiritual injury. The non-presentation of 
a Church letter is practically equivalent to a with- 
drawal from the Church, which, though far from the 
possessor's original intention, is nevertheless often 
accomplished by delay. While it is not necessary — 
except on the ground of moral and spiritual motives — 
to deny the right of withdrawal in this form, yet it 
may often be within a pastor's power to prevent it. 
He should not, therefore, issue certificates in a formal 
or indifferent manner, but, while complying with the 
requisition, should endeavor to impress upon the re- 
moving members the importance of promptness in 
making themselves known as Christians in the places 
to which they remove. He should point out to them 
the possible embarrassments to which they may be 
subject on arriving among strangers, together with 
the great desirability of seeking Christian sympathy 
and fellowship at the earliest moment. To make this 
course not only practicable, but easy, he should often 
superadd letters of personal introduction to the pastor 
within whose bounds they expect to remove. Cor- 
responding to this, when practicable, he should, in 
accordance with the rule of Discipline, notify the 
pastor of the Church to which they propose remov- 
ing of the intended removal and the certificate given. 
No statistics can ever determine the numbers of 
persons who have lost their Church standing and 
lapsed from a Christian profession through the un- 
friendly influences incident to the frequent removals 
of American population. The corresponding loss to 
the Church is known to have been great, and for the 



302 ATTENTION TO STRANGERS. 

past irremediable. But it is believed that much may 
be done to guard against such evils hereafter. To 
this end not only let the precautions above suggested 
be observed, but let pastors every-where be on the 
alert personally and by the aid of active committees 
to find and to welcome Church members who may 
remove within their bounds. Nor should they confine 
their attentions merely to Church members, but make 
it a rule to extend them to all new-comers and stran- 
gers, inviting their attendance upon public worship, 
and their participation in the religious and social priv- 
ileges of the community. It is only by diligence in 
duties of this kind that the spirit and precepts of 
Christianity can be fully illustrated. Our Savior him- 
self, in his discourse on the last judgment,* sets forth 
the duty of welcoming strangers in a most impressive 
manner. The apostle Paul also enjoins the same duty 
both in his Epistle to the Rom^ans and in that to the 
Hebrews.! 

The rendering of both passages in our common 
version, viz., "given to hospitality," and ''be not un- 
mindful to entertain strangers," falls below the sig- 
nificance of the original, and the modern limitation 
of the words "hospitality" and "entertain," still fur- 
ther narrows down the general comprehension of these 
inspired precepts. The Greek word used in both cases 
is (filo^evia, " love of Strangers." When a true. Chris- 
tian " love of strangers " is manifested both by pastors 
and people, it becomes a great agency of winning 
souls, and of building up the Church. 

* Matt. XXV, 35. t Rom. xii, 14. Heb. xiii, 2. 



A DIVINE APPOINTMENT. 303 



CHAPTER IX. 

RELATIONS AND DUTIES OF A CHURCH TO ITS 
PASTOR. 

IN immediate connection with the foregoing discus- 
sion of a pastor's duties to his Church, it seems 
proper to consider briefly the reciprocal relation of 
the Church to its pastor. A good pastorate being 
essential to the prosperity of a Church, the Church, 
on its part, is under obligation to contribute, in all 
practicable ways, to promote the success and effi- 
ciency of its pastor. 

The Scriptures clearly indicate the ministry to be 
the gift of God to the Church — a divine appointment 
for its edification and improvement, "for the perfect- 
ing of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for 
the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come 
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of 
the stature of the fullness of Christ." Eph. iv, 12, 13. 
In this view Christian Churches collectively, and their 
members in particular, should be on the alert to de- 
rive from their pastor the largest possible measure of 
spiritual profit. The Scriptures, moreover, are not 
lacking in indications of the various modes by which 
these results may be obtained. At least in spirit 



304 WELCOME, 

they enjoin upon Churches and Church members the 
following several duties toward their pastors : 

I . To receive tJievi gladly and uuelco^ne tJicm cordially. 
The Savior himself taught this duty in an emphatic 
manner. "He that receiveth you receiveth me ; and 
he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He 
that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall 
receive a prophet's reward ; and he that receiveth a 
righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall 
receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever 
shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup 
of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I 
say unto you, he shall in no v\-ise lose his reward." 
Matt. X, 40-42. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He 
that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me ; and 
he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." 
John xiii, 20. The apostle Paul claimed it for him- 
self and for his helpers in the ministry : " Receive us 
{■/iopr^nazt r^jj.ac, welcome US, receive us to a large place 
in your hearts and affections) ; we have wronged no 
man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded 
no man, . . . for I have said before that ye are 
in our hearts to die and live with you." 2 Cor. vii, 2. 
A further reference is made to the same subject in 
the 13th verse: "Therefore we were comforted in 
your comfort : yea, and exceedingly the more joyed 
we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was re- 
freshed by you all." In sending Epaphroditus to the 
Philippians, the same apostle exhorts them : *'' Re- 
ceive him in the Lord with all gladness ; and hold 
such in reputation." Phil, ii, 29. Writing to the 
Corinthians he says : " I am glad of the coming of 



APOSTOLIC PRECEPTS. 305 

Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus : for that 
which was lacking on your part they have sup- 
plied. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours : 
therefore acknowledge ye them that are such." i 
Cor. xvi, 17, 18. 

The example of Paul in these and various kindred 
passages also indicates the duty of ministers, and 
particularly of senior ministers, to inculcate upon 
Churches the obligations which they owe to their 
pastors and those who labor among them in word 
and doctrine. This primary duty of the hospitable 
and cordial reception of a pastor is of great impor- 
tance, as tending to cheer the heart of a stranger, and 
impart to him hope and energy, when an opposite 
course might cause him pain and intense embarrass- 
ment. Such receptions appear to have been referred 
to when the apostle says, with reference to Ephesus, 
" a great and effectual door is opened unto me ;" 
and also "when I came to Troas to preach Christ's 
gospel, a door was opened unto me of the Lord." 
2 Cor. ii, 12. No one, therefore, who loves the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and would desire to facilitate the spread 
of his gospel in any community in which he dwells, 
should be indifferent to the kind reception of a Chris- 
tian pastor. Words of welcome and expressions of 
hope come gracefully from the humblest member of 
the Church, and will not be without an encouraging 
effect ; whereas distance, formality, and reserve are 
chilling and repulsive. But kind receptions do not 
exhaust themselves in words. Rather they abound 
in acts of kindness and friendly assistance, which aid 
the pastor in becoming promptly settled in his new 

26 



306 ATTENTIVE HEARING. 

home and speedily acquainted with the members of 
his congregation. 

2. // is the duty of C/mrches and Church members to 
hear their pastoj^s attentively and revei^ently. A great 
wrong is done when, through partiality to former pas- 
tors, prejudice, or indifference of any kind, a willing ear 
is withheld from a messenger of the Lord. " Faith 
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of the 
Lord." Rom. x, 17. To have "ears dull of hearing" 
is both a calamity and a sin.* " He that turneth away 
his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be 
abomination." Prov. xxviii, 9. Thus it may be seen 
that inattention or an indisposition to hear on the part 
of the people may at once place it out of the power 
of a minister to do them good, and inflict upon them- 
selves serious moral injury. Besides, bad example in 
this respect becomes contagious, and tends to stop the 
ears of a community, not only against a minister, 
but against God's messages of truth. Witness the 
Savior's words : " He that heareth you heareth me ; 
and he that despiseth you despiseth me ; and he that 
despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." Luke x, 
16. No true minister of Christ would value, even if 
he accepted, attentions shown to him personally, but 
withheld from him in the character of a messenger of 
Christ. The most valued welcome, therefore, a min- 
ister can receive is from numerous and attentive audi- 
tors, who gladly receive the word of truth in the name 
and for the sake of his divine Master. If it should 
happen that from youth or diffidence, or some other 
cause, a pastor should be in danger of making himself 

* Matt, xiii, 15 ; Acts xxviii, 27. 



SUPPORT, 307 

less impressive or influential than might be desired, it 
is at this point that stronger effort should be put forth 
as a means of guarding the interests of the Church 
and increasing the usefulness of one who is charged 
with leadership in the Church. Observe with what 
consideration the apostle Paul bespoke for Timothy 
the encouragement of the Church of Corinth: " Now 
if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you with- 
out fear ; for he worketh the work of the Lord as I 
also do. Let no man, therefore, despise him." i Cor. 
xvi, 10, II. This language was evidently based on the 
youthfulness and comparative inexperience of Timo- 
thy, and may be considered an authoritative plea in 
behalf of ail young ministers to whomsoever they 
may be sent. 

3. // is the duty of CJmrches to sttstain their pastors 
generously . This is not only true of moral, but of ma- 
terial support. Christ says, " The laborer is worthy 
of his hire ;" and Paul exhorts, " Let him that is 
taught in the word communicate unto him that teach- 
eth in all good things." Gal. vi, 6. He also asserts, 
" Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which 
preach the gospel should live of the gospel." i Cor. 
ix, 14. What is wanted in Christian Churches at the 
present time is not so much a theoretical admission 
of the authority of these precepts as of liberality and 
practicalness in their application to the actual circum- 
stances of ministers. In a Church in which ministers 
carry the voluntary principle to the extent of discard- 
ing all stipulations as to salary, leaving the whole 
matter of their support to the justice and generosity 
of their brethren of the laity in the several charges, 



308 GENEROUS CONFIDENCE, 

they have a right to expect that their reasonable 
wants will be well and fully provided for. Hence it 
may be said, that Churches, by their appropriate com- 
mittees, should estimate liberally and pay promptly 
the salaries of their pastors. Great injustice is often 
done by inattention to this matter. Pastors are not 
only embarrassed and straitened by the withholding 
of what is their due, but they are actually incapaci- 
tated for the degree of usefulness they might attain if 
relieved from temporal embarrassment and apprehen- 
sion of pecuniary trouble. Without discussing this 
subject at length, it may be summarily said that, in 
estimating for the support of their pastors. Churches 
should consider, not only their material, but also 
their intellectual necessities, and give them the 
means of constant mental and literary improvement. 
Especially for an itinerant ministry should suitable 
parsonages or pastoral residences be provided, and sup- 
plied with heavy furniture. Besides, in all Churches, 
when it is practicable, pastors' libraries should be es- 
tablished, in which as many good books as possible 
should be provided and kept for the joint use of pas- 
tors and Sunday-school teachers. The advantages of 
such a library can hardly be overestimated, especially 
if well stocked with standard books of reference in re- 
gard to theology and biblical literature. Even where 
Churches have no superabundance of means, and find 
some difficulties in meeting all their other obligations, 
individuals are sometimes found w^ho would take a 
peculiar and personal interest in establishing, recruit- 
ing, or endowing libraries of this kind, and pastors 
should be on the alert to find and encourage them in 



PR A YER. 309 

acts of beneficence adapted to their special tastes or 
views of obligation. 

4. CJmrches a?id Church members should love their 
pastors sincerely, and pray for them constantly and fer- 
vently. The first branch of this duty is urgently en- 
joined by the apostle Paul. "And we beseech you, 
brethren, to know them which labor among you, and 
are over you in the Lord, and admonish you ; and to 
esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. 
And be at peace among yourselves." i Thess. v, 12, 
13. It is also enjoined by all those precepts which 
commend mutual love and affection as between Chris- 
tian brethren, among whom ministers are ever repre- 
sented as holding the chief place. 

The duty of special prayer for ministers is indicated 
by the example of the early Church, and also by re- 
peated solicitations addressed by the apostles to the 
Churches to offer supplications in their behalf When 
Peter was put in prison, under guard of four quater- 
nions of soldiers, " prayer was made without ceasing 
of the Church unto God for him." The apostle to the 
G^entiles not once only, but repeatedly, exhorted those 
to whom his epistles were addressed in reference to 
this matter. " Brethren, pray for us." i Thess. v, 
25. " Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of 
the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even 
as it is with you." 2 Thess. iii, i. " Continue in 
prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving ; 
withal praying also for us, that God would open unto 
us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, 
for which I am also in bonds : that I may make it 
manifest, as I ought to speak." Col. iv, 2-4. 



310 OBEDIENCE. 

Again : " Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord 
Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, 
that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God 
for me." Rom. xv, 30. " Praying always, 
and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that 
I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the 
mystery of the gospel." Eph. vi, 18-20. Indeed, 
there is hardly an epistle without a request of this 
kind ; e. g., " Ye also helping together by prayer for 
us." 2 Cor. i, II. '' Praying also for us that God 
would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the 
mystery of Christ." Col. iv, 3. These requests of 
the inspired apostles, recorded in epistles designed to 
serve as a directory for the Church in all subsequent 
ages, have the full force of precepts, and should conse- 
quently challenge the attention and govern the habits 
of Christians and Churches to the end of the world. 

5. CJmrches should recognize ajid sustain the spirit Jia I 
authority of tJieir pastors by a cJieetful obedience to their 
scriptitral precepts and pious admonitions. Obedience 
is not a favorite duty of modern times, and yet mod- 
ern intelligence can not fail to perceive that obedience 
to parents, to magistrates, and to military command- 
ers is as essential now as it has ever been. Christians 
especially will do well to take heed to the teachings 
of Scripture in reference to this subject. A passage 
in Hebrews sets forth at once the duty and the object. 
" Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit 
yourselves : for they watch for your souls, as they that 
must give account, that they may do it with joy, and 
not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." Heb. 
xiii, 17. The Church at Rome is praised for this obe- 



THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. 31I 

dience : " But God be thanked, that ye have obeyed 
from the heart that form of doctrine which was de- 
Hvered unto you." Rom. vi, 17. "For your obedi- 
ence is come abroad unto all men." xvi, 19. Paul 
and Titus rejoice together over the same grace in the 
Church in Corinth : " Yea, and exceedingly the more 
joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was 
refreshed by you all. And his inward affection is 
more abundant toward you, whilst he remembered the 
obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye 
received him." 2 Cor. vii, 13, 15. 

The Galatians are reproved for the lack of the same 
thing : " O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, 
that ye should not obey the truth." iii, i. In sim- 
ilar terms the apostle addresses the Thessalonians : 
" If any man obey not our word by this epistle, note 
that man, and have no company with him, that he 
may be ashamed." 2 Thess. iii, 14. To the same he 
says : " We have confidence in the Lord touching you, 
that ye both do and will do the things which we com- 
mand you. Now we command you, brethren, in the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw 
yourselves from every brother that walketh disor- 
derly, and not after the tradition which he received 
of us." iii, 4, 6. Such authority is not confined to 
apostles. To Timothy, the apostle says : " These 
things command and teach." i Tim. iv, 11. 

It is because they are intrusted with the Word of 
God that pastors are set with authority to command 
obedience. Magistrates bear the sword as the em- 
blem of their authority and the instrument of execu- 
tion. Into the hands of the pastor is put "the sword 



312 REPUTATION. 

of the Spirit, the Word of God." " The Word of God 
is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged 
sword." It is that word of the gospel which Christians 
are to obey. Ministers also should remember that, 
although intrusted with the grave responsibility of 
bearing and enforcing the word and will of God, they 
must discharge their duties with that meekness and 
humility which will challenge the love and approba- 
tion of their brethren, not " as being lords over God's 
heritagCji^but being ensamples to the flock." i Pet. 
V, 3. " Not that we have dominion over your faith, 
but are helpers of your joy." 2 Cor. i, 24. 

6. CJmrches shoidd honor their pastors and gnard 
iJieir reptUation as a part of their own. The true dig- 
nity and the highest usefulness of the pastoral office 
never appear where members of the Church are on 
the alert to discover foibles in the character or con- 
duct of a pastor, but only where, with charity for his 
weaknesses and infirmities, there is a disposition to 
hold him in honor for his office and his work's sake. 
This sentiment will cause good people to guard 
against the reckless and objectionable criticism, not 
to say fault-finding, which it is the tendency of some 
to indulge against ministers. Nevertheless, it is com- 
patible with Christian faithfulness in communicating 
to pastors, at proper times and in a kind way, what- 
ever faults or mistakes seem to hinder their usefulness, 
or well-considered suggestions as to any manner in 
which they may do more good. The rule of what is 
commendable and dutiful in a Christian Church is 
thus stated by Paul : " Let the elders that rule well 
be counted worthy of double honor, especially they 



BLENDED INTERESTS. 313 

who labor in word and doctrine." i Tim. v, 17. 
" Remember them which have the rule over you, who 
have spoken unto you the word of God : whose faith 
follow, considering- the end of their conversation." 
Heb. xiii, 7. The honor here recommended is ren- 
dered by a cheerful compliance with the several duties 
heretofore enumerated, also by Christians taking all 
fit occasions to speak well of their pastor, and using 
appropriate efforts to enlarge the sphere of his influ- 
ence, by bringing hearers to his ministry, and prepar- 
ing for him a favorable reception from those whom he 
would win to the fold of Christ. It is possible for 
Churches, even those which are large and rich, to 
restrict and belittle their own influence by indiffer- 
ence to the honor of their pastor ; whereas other 
Churches, of perhaps less opportunity, promote their 
own honor and usefulness by honoring their pastors 
as the servants of 'God with a generous support. The 
old motto, " Respect yourself if you would be re- 
spected," is applicable here ; also the apostolic remark, 
" No man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth 
and cherisheth it even as the Lord the Church, for we 
are members of his body." Eph. v, 28, 29. The idea 
of the Church as a visible organic body places the 
pastor at the head, and while " they are many mem- 
bers, yet but one body : the eye can not say unto the 
hand, I have no need of thee : nor again the head to 
the feet, I have no need of you." i Cor. xii, 20, 21. 
Still less can the other members of the body say to 
the head, we have no need of thee. On the other 
hand, the welfare of the whole body is promoted by 
the members severally rendering " honor to whom 

27 



314 CO-OPERATION. 

honor is due," and in " honor preferring one another." 
But the empty honor of applause or commendation 
is with a Christian pastor nothing, and less than 
nothing, unless his divine Master is honored through 
the joint instrumentality of himself and the Church. 
Hence he is chiefly anxious about what follows. 

7. // is the ditty of Christian Chttrches to co-operate 
with their pastors earnestly, tLuitedly, and efficiently in 
promoting the zvork of the Lord. This is, in fact, the 
great object of Church organization, and so many of 
the precepts and teachings with which the inspired 
epistles abound point directly to this agency of pro- 
moting the salvation of men and the glory of God 
that but few examples need be given : " If ye then be 
risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, 
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set 
your affection on things above, not on things on the 
earth. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in 
all wisdom ; teaching and admonishing one another in 
psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord." Col. iii, i, 2, 16. 
"Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, re- 
deeming the time. Let your speech be always with 
grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye 
ought to answer every man." iv, 5, 6. "We give 
thanks to God always for you all, making mention 
of you in our prayers ; remembering without ceasing 
your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of 
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God 
and our Father ; ye were ensamples to all that believe 
in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded 
out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and 



S YMPA THE TIC A TTENTION. 3 1 5 

Achaia, but also in every place your faith to Godward 
is spread abroad." i Thess. i, 2, 3, 7, 8. "Now we 
exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, com- 
fort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient 
toward all men. See that none render evil for evil 
unto any man ; but ever follow that which is good, 
both among yourselves, and to all men." v, 14, 15. 
Here are the rules of conduct for Christian Churches 
and believers to the end of time, and happy are the 
pastors whose hearts are comforted and whose hands 
are held up by the faithful co-operation of Churches 
actively and wholly consecrated to the divine service. 
8. // isf the ditty of C/mrches to comfort their pastors 
when in affliction, and to dismiss them kijidly when 
they go to other fields of labor. This duty may be 
enjoined on the ground of respect, of sympathy, and 
of gratitude for services rendered. Ministers of the 
gospel are subject to sickness and sorrows, like other 
men, and, having devoted their energies to promoting 
the welfare of others and spent their strength in vis- 
iting the sick and consoling the afflicted, it would be 
sad indeed if, when their hour of trial came, they 
should lack friends to succor and comfort them. The 
apostles, who approved themselves as ministers of 
God in the peculiar trials of their times, "in much 
patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in 
stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in 
watchings, in fastings," yet showed their need and 
their high appreciation of Christian sympathy. Paul 
writes to the Philippians : "But I rejoiced in the Lord 
greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath 
flourished again ; wherein ye were also careful, but ye 



3l6 A WANT OF THE SOUL. 

lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of 
want : for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, 
therewith to be content. I know both how to be 
abased, and I know how to abound: every-where and 
in all things I am instructed both to be full and to 
be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can 
do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 
Notwithstanding, ye have well done, that ye did com- 
municate with my affliction." Phil, iv, 10-14. "If 
there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any 
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any 
bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like- 
minded, having the same love, being of one accord, 
of one mind." ii, i, 2. 

Predominant in Paul's epistles is his anxiety for 
the spiritual welfare of the Churches. While his self- 
forgetfulness was so great that his very life seemed 
to depend on the steadfastness of his spiritual chil- 
dren, yet he could feel keenly the pangs of desertion. 
When at Rome in his last trial no man stood with 
him, but all men forsook him, and, although the Lord 
stood with him and strengthened him, still he felt the 
need of sympathy and aid from Timothy, his own son 
in the gospel, to whom he wrote, "Do thy diligence 
to come shortly unto me." 2 Tim. iv, 9. The duty 
here referred to should be exemplified in systematic 
liberality to all aged and afflicted ministers and their 
families. Until that is done, unnecessary privations 
and sorrows are imposed on those who give their 
lives to the service of the Church. 

Irrespective of old age and personal affliction, the 
exercise of consideration and kindness to retiring 



pastors is incumbent upon every Church. Whether 
a minister leaves a Church in the routine of a regular 
system or for other causes, there is neither propriety 
nor religion in a cold and unfeeling dismissal. On 
the other hand, the removal of a pastor should be an 
occasion of the kindliest sympathies and the exercises 
of those acts of friendship which will endear mutual 
recollection and make future meetings in this world 
and the next a subject of pleasant anticipation. A 
system of regular and periodical pastoral changes 
greatly favors such a result, and is happily free from 
those disturbing causes which so often disrupt pas- 
toral relations supposed to have been settled for life. 
It is therefore incumbent on those pastors who 
enjoy the advantages of an approved system of rota- 
tion in their ministerial service to prepare the way 
for each other. The close of a pastoral term is a 
fitting and favorable occasion in which the retiring 
pastor may not only prepare the way for his suc- 
cessor, but disinterestedly instruct the Church in its 
relations to the pastoral office, and its various obliga- 
tions toward those who may in future sustain that 
office in their midst. Timely and judicious attention 
to this branch of pastoral instruction will prove 
equally advantageous to Churches and pastors, by 
enabling both to comprehend better the sacredncss 
of their mutual relations, and the means by which 
they can' more effectually "strive together in one 
spirit and with one mind for the faith of the gospel." 
Phil, i, 27. 



3i8 MAN MADE TO WORSHIP. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE PASTOR AS A LEADER AND GUIDE OF WORSHIP. 

FROM the mutual relations and duties of the pas- 
tor and the Church as an organic body, we pass 
to consider a pastor's relations and responsibilities to 
the Church and congregation as a religious assembly. 
It is an important function of a Christian Church to 
attract to itself and within reach of direct pastoral 
influence, many who are not members, but who may 
be expected to become such. Hence, although a 
pastor's obligations to the organic Church are pri- 
mary, they are not ultimate. While his first duties 
are to feed and nourish the gathered flock he is ne\^r 
to lose sight of those sheep that are without the fold,, 
and who need to be brought within it as a place of 
safety, and a training school for heaven. In this view, 
all men miust be regarded as having religious suscep- 
tibilities and wants, which can only be satisfied by 
divine worship. Hence the Christian sanctuary must 
be thrown open to invite the wayfarer and the wan- 
derer as well as the children and friends of the 
Church to join in acts of devotion to their com.rnon 
Father and Judge. Even the infidelity which at- 
tempts to deny immortality to man is forced to admit 
that " man is a worshiping animal." All the false 



^i;S'7:£'.'J/,5- OF WORSHIP. ' 319 

worships of heathenism, and the history of the world 
from the earhest ages, concur in proving that man 
was made to worship. Patriarchism and Judaism 
were based upon the same great fact ; and when their 
preparatory service was accomphshed, Christianity 
was revealed and established as a system of worship 
fully adapted to the spiritual wants, not of a tribe or 
nation, but of the human race. Great mistakes, how- 
ever, have been made, by some who have represented 
Christianity, in not maintaining the simplicity, the 
spirituality, and the purity of the worship appointed 
by Christ as adapted to men and acceptable to God. 
Hence cumbrous and costly ceremonies, derived in 
part from Judaism, in part from paganism, and in 
part from the devices of men's hearts, have been im- 
posed upon the Christian Church as a necessary 
means or condition of worship. The tendency of 
ceremonious forms has uniformly been to corrupt or 
banish that true spirituality which is the one essen- 
tial idea of true worship. " The hour cometh, and 
now is," said the Lord Jesus, " when the true wor- 
shipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in 
truth : for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 
God is a Spirit : and they that worship him must 
worship him in spirit and in truth." 

To promote the will of God in this regard is there- 
fore one of the great duties of the Christian ministry. 
For this object the holy Sabbath is given, temples of 
worship are erected, and frequent assemblies of the 
people are convened. In assemblies for worship, ac- 
cording to the Christian idea, the pastor is the appro- 
priate and recognized leader. On this account he was 



320 A PASTOR'S FUNCTIONS. 

anciently called Ttpotnxwzy PrcEpositiLS, or President, 
reference being had to his function of conducting di- 
vine service. So in modern as well as ancient times 
the pastor is the president or conductor of worship in 
a Christian assembly. 

In this capacity several specific and important du- 
ties devolve upon him. Primarily it belongs to him, 
in connection with suitable advisers, to arrange the 
times of public worship. On the meeting of a relig- 
ious assembly it is his function to initiate the serv- 
ices, either by announcing a hymn of praise to God, 
the reading of the Scriptures, or the offering of prayer. 
In these several acts, whatever order may be pursued, 
the object is not so much to fulfill a ceremony as to 
engage the attention and enlist the feelings of all 
present in becoming themselves worshipers "in spirit 
and in truth." For a more minute consideration of 
what belongs to the pastor in this sphere of his du- 
ties we may give attention to, i. Public worship; 2. 
Social worship. 

No man is so responsible for making the Lord's 
The Sabbath a day a dcHght and a blessing to the com- 
dehght. munity in which he dwells as the Christian 

pastor. In the accomplishment of this result worship 
must not only be made attractive, but edifying — a 
means of intellectual and spiritual profit to all who 
engage in it. One of the most important prerequi- 
sites to this is that the pastor himself be, like John 
upon Patmos, "in the spirit on the Lord's day." Much 
has been written on preparation for preaching ; com- 
paratively little on preparation for praying. Of the 
two, the latter is most important, since speaking to 



PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP. 32 1 

God is a more solemn thing than speaking to men. 
All that has been heretofore said respecting the relig- 
ious qualifications of a minister of the gospel should be 
presupposed as a general preparation for the religious 
duties of any given Sabbath. Then the specific prepa- 
ration for the duties of the sanctuary should each Sab- 
bath be early commenced in the closet. They should 
be intimately associated with the meditations on sacred 
truth designed to occupy the thoughts of the minister 
and the people, so that a certain unity may be secured 
for the entire engagement of the time spent in the 
sanctuary. Special devotional reading and composi- 
tion may be employed to concentrate thought and fa- 
cilitate expression, as well as to preoccupy the soul 
with the fervor and the reverence which become the 
sanctuary. On entering the sacred place devotions 
should be continued, and a devotional frame of mind 
cultivated, to the exclusion of worldly and intrud- 
ing thoughts. Corresponding to this, congregations 
should be instructed and entreated to regard the 
Christian Church not merely as an auditorium for 
pleaching, but as a temple for divine worship, in 
which, as a primary duty, it is appropriate for all to 
bow the head in silent and fervent prayer at the 
moment of entering. Few things have a greater 
tendency to banish sacred thoughts and to dissipate 
sentiments of adoration than to gaze listlessly about, 
and fill the mind with observations upon persons and 
dress, or any thing else foreign to the idea of com- 
munion with God. For the habits of a religious 
congregation in this regard the pastor is largcl}- re- 
sponsible ; and it should be his aim continually to 



322 PLACES OF WORSHIP SACRED. 

deepen and strengthen the sacredness of all the 
associations of the house of worship. Not only he, 
but his official members, should guard against any 
uses of a Christian Church which might directly or 
indirectly dissipate sacred associations and defile it 
with acts or memories at variance with the spiritual 
worship of the living God. In the reaction of Prot- 
estantism against the extremes of Romanistic ritual- 
ism, an opposite and not less reprehensible extreme 
has often been reached by which, through the care- 
lessness or the weakness of persons charged with the 
control of church edifices, they have often been pol- 
luted by most objectionable uses. It is not only the 
right but the duty of a pastor to demand that a 
church, in which he is to conduct public worship and 
preach the gospel, be held sacred to that exclusive use. 
To allow churches to be used for political meetings, 
for comic concerts, for dramatism, under any of its 
guises, or even for miscellaneous lectures and ad- 
dresses, is to destroy the idea of their sacredness, and 
to rob them of a silent power which is invaluable as 
an auxiliary to worship. Here is a matter in which 
pastors, as they love the souls of men, are called. upon 
to exert all their legitimate authority, and to claim 
obedience in behalf of their divine Master, who set 
them so conspicuous an example of zeal for the i^urity 
of God's temple.* Church desecrations, by whomso- 
ever permitted, are sure to result in serious hinder- 
ances to the spirituality of worship on many succeed- 
ing Sabbaths, if not indeed permanently. 

Space forbids an extended discussion of the pro- 

* See Matt. xxi. 12. 



DIFFERENT FORMS OF WORSHIP. ^2^ 

priety of any particular order or form of Christian 
worship. It is assumed that the order may be 
changeable and the forms different with equal ac- 
ceptance before God, the grand essentialities of wor- 
ship consisting in the spirit and in the truth of 
worship. Whatever form or order, therefore, is in 
any Church deemed most conducive to the true spirit 
of worship is to be commended and followed. It 
seems like a very narrow view of the design and 
possibilities of public devotion to limit it, from Sun- 
day to Sunday, to a fixed ritual, and to prayers com- 
posed centuries ago. Ritual forms, nevertheless, have 
their advantages, especially in enabling and accus- 
toming all present to actually participate in acts of 
worship. A prayer of invocation as the initiatory 
act of divine service seems in itself intrinsically 
appropriate, although, when in practice followed by 
what is termed the long prayer, it seems ceremoni- 
ous, and tends to repetition. The theory of our own 
Church is that the prayer of invocation should be 
silent and individual, and that devotional singing is 
appropriate as the first general act of public worship. 
To this, then, let our attention be now given. 

Singing the Praises of God is an act in which 
every member of a Christian congregation 

. Sacred Song. 

should be encouraged, and, if possible, in- 
duced to participate. The allotment of this important 
branch of worship to a quartette or a select few is an 
obvious perversion of propriety. Y.et there may be no 
impropriety in a select few competent persons being 
designated to lead the singing of a large congregation. 
The same view may be expressed- of an organ used for 



324 CONGREGATIONAL SINGING. 

that object. If isolated and exclusive in its use, it is 
a vain show, a proxy, a performance. If employed as 
a guide and a help, it may contribute greatly to the 
good order, the vitality, and the religious interest of 
the service. The pastor has much to do in rendering 
the singing of his congregation spiritual and an aid 
to the devotions of the people. 

1. He needs to select appropriate hymns, and to 
read them in such a manner as to impress their 
choice sentiments upon all hearts. 

2. By a definite understanding with the leader of 
his choir he should make it certain that both appro- 
priate and familiar tunes are chosen. 

3. He should exhort and induce all the people to 
join in the singing. This can rarely be accomplished 
by a single word, but only by systematic and perse- 
vering effort, inclusive of recommendations that all 
provide themselves with hymn-books, that all give 
attention to learning to sing and to sing well, and 
specially that all earnestly and fervently join in the 
present hymn, entering into the sentiment as an act 
of personal devotion. He should teach these things 
by example as well as precept, being himself a par- 
ticipant, and not a spectator of the service of song. 

If by these and other appropriate modes he can 

induce the people to sing ''with the spirit and the 

understanding also," and to sing "heartily as unto 

the Lord," divine service will be well commenced. 

In order that prayer may be in the highest degree 

profitable as a branch of public worship, 

it also needs to be the subject of special 

instruction and exhortation. In addition to sCich 



DEVOTIONAL ATTITUDES. 325 

preaching upon the subject as will demonstrate its 
importance and universal obligation, together with 
the nature and advantages of the various elements 
and kinds of prayer, there should be a special show- 
ing of the proprieties of public prayer, by which every 
one will be enabled to appreciate the obligation to 
participate in it as a worshiper, and the great impro- 
priety of witnessing it as a spectacle. All should 
be entreated to assume during prayer a devotional 
attitude, and to avoid the irreverence and distraction 
of gazing about. Where churches are not so con- 
structed as to render kneeling generally practicable, 
which is always to be desired, at least all may **bow 
down," and thus secure a uniformity of external rever- 
ence, which is in itself impressive, and calculated to 
promote the spirituality of worship. As a summary 
of good instruction and an authoritative scriptural 
exhortation it is well often to introduce the service 
of public prayer with a select address, like one of the 
following : " O come, let us worship and bow down : 
let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is 
oiir God ; and we are the people of his pasture, and 
the sheep of his hand." Ps. xcv, 6, 7. "Give unto 
the Lord the glory due unto his name : bring an offer- 
ing, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord 
in the beauty of holiness : fear before him, all the 
earth." xcvi, 8, 9. "Exalt ye the Lord our God, 
and worship at his footstool ; for he is holy." xcix, 5. 
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his 
courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless 
his name." c, 4. 

In any case where a ritual form is employed it 



326 SPIRIT OF PRAYER AND PRAISE. 

is specially incumbent on the leader to comprehend 
the meaning and enter into the spirit of his utter- 
ances, the people being duly exhorted to join in the 
responses. Where extempore prayer is offered it is 
equally important to induce in all the people the 
habit of mentally following and actually joining in 
the confessions made, the praise rendered, and the 
supplications uttered. Whoever neglects thus to 
unite his heart with the leader of either public or 
social prayer fails to be an actual worshiper, and 
thus -forfeits the highest privilege of such an occa- 
sion. Have not ministers too generally overlooked 
their responsibility of calling attention to this impor- 
tant matter, and consequently allowed habits to be 
formed unfriendly to profitable Vv orship .'* 

In extempore prayer the three great essentials are 
devotional thought, devotional feeling, and devotional 
expression. The first and second should be habitually 
and studiously cultivated, and the third should be se- 
cured by great familiarity with scriptural phraseology, 
the most approved devotional reading, and diligent and 
critical composition. These several agencies are very 
important as a means of avoiding a sameness that 
has the objectionable features of a ritual without the 
advantages of its antiquity and literary superiority. 
So far as thought or matter is concerned, sameness 
and iteration are the prevailing faults of extempore 
prayer, and they need to be corrected by a diligent 
study of variety, both in matter and in combinations, 
while the deeper and more progressive a minister's 
personal experience may be, the more nearly his 
prayers will become the expression of his spiritual 



PUBLIC READING OF SCRIPTURE. - 327 

life, and the more directly and powerfully they will 
tend to improve the spiritual life of others. As to 
the general subjects and order of public prayer, they 
are suggested by the apostle Paul in his instruction 
to Timothy: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, 
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of 
thanks, be made for all men : for kings, and for all 
that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and 
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this 
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Sav- 
ior." I Tim. ii, 1-3. To a compliance with this 
apostolic direction may be added the Lord's Prayer, 
which, as taught the disciples, may be considered an 
ever-binding prescription to Christian ministers, spe- 
cially appropriate to be offered in the simultaneous 
utterance of a public congregation, as well as in fam- 
ily and social worship.* 

From the example of the purest Judaism, sanc- 
tioned by that of our Lord Jesus Christ, Reading of the 
of the holy apostles, and of Christian an- Scnptures. 
tiiquity, the reading of the Scriptures comes to us as 
ah important branch of public worship: As such, 
when properly performed, it is "profitable for doc- 
trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness." The reading of the Scriptures in 
the congregation is wholly under the control of the 
officiating minister. On him it devolves to make 
appropriate selections, and to read with a propriety 
and power of expression that shall duly set forth the 

*For further suggestions in reference to the duty and methods of 
prayer, see a volume entitled, Helps to Prayer, about to be pub- 
lished by the Western Boole Concern. 



328 ENGAGING ATTENTION 

significance of the sacred text. The beauty and the 
truth of God's word are sometimes seriously marred 
by bad articulation, hurried utterance, affected into- 
nations, and misplaced emphasis. Let the minister, 
therefore, cultivate the best elocution in order to do 
justice to his readings of the divine word, and let 
him avail himself of appropriate means to awaken 
and increase the attention of the people. Of such 
means the following may be suggested : 

1. Brief and pertinent introductory remarks, fol- 
lowed by similar comments on portions of the text. 

2. Encouraging the people to have their Bibles 
with them, and to follow the reading with their eyes, 

3. Accustoming the congregation to read respon- 
sively, if not every Sunday and all the Scripture 
lessons, yet occasionally, when there is special pro- 
priety in so doing, as in the responsive Psalms, and 
various portions of the Old and New Testaments. 

By the last method all the best advantages of a 
ritual may be secured, free from the objectionable 
features of prayer-books, together with a variety in 
the conduct of divine service which will tend to 
deepen general interest in it, and consequently to 
increase the profit of the worshipers. 

As preaching will be more specifically referred to 
in the following chapter, it only remains 

Closing pmyer. . _ -^ 

to notice, in connection with the usual 
routine of public worship, the closing prayer. While 
the introductory prayer should have reference to the 
general wants and interests of the congregation and 
the community, the concluding prayer naturally grows 
out of the sermon, and should be. in itself a devotional 



FERVENCY OF SPIRIT. 329 

Utterance corresponding to the truth or duty elabo- 
rated in the discourse. Every religious truth is capa- 
ble of various modes of expression. In a sermon it 
may be presented in a didactic, a hortatory, or an 
argumentative form — in prayer devotionally. When 
the mind and heart of a preacher have become thor- 
oughly enlisted in a subject, and when he has done 
his best to present it to a congregation, he can hardly 
fail to experience overflowing anxieties that God would 
sanction his effort and deepen the impressions the 
truth may have made. Besides, the truth will open 
in new forms before his own mind, and take a natu- 
ral utterance in prayer. How undesirable at such a 
moment to be fettered with any set form, but how 
profitable to bring to God in deepest sincerity the 
outgushings of a soul glowing with desire in behalf 
of those whom the truth was designed to make "free 
indeed !" Devotions in which the pastor's own soul 
is kindled into holy fervor can hardly fail to enlist 
the ardent desires and deep religious sympathies of a 
congregation, and thus put them in frame both to ask 
and receive the divine blessing. 

In a preceding chapter the administration of the 
sacrament of the Lord's-Supper was re- 

. . The Eucharist. 

ferred to as an official duty. Here it may 
be considered as an act of religious worship in which 
the pastor is, as in the services above named, the 
leader and guide. Indeed, the participation of the 
holy eucharist may be regarded as the crowning act 
of Christian worship. How important, therefore, that 
a pastor accustom himself to conduct it in a manner 
conducive to his own edification and that of his peo- 

28 



330 THE EUCHARIST AN ACT OF WORSHIP. 

pie ! For the reason that this service always involves 
similar conditions, our Church adopts a ritual form 
for its administration, which is very useful in guiding 
both the administrator and the recipients. Never- 
theless, the former needs to superadd spirit to form, 
and to infuse into the whole sermon a hallowed influ- 
ence such as can only come from a deep personal 
interest in its sacred meaning and design. Besides, 
in the personal and public addresses which follow 
the prayer of consecration, as well as in the singing 
which follows the supper, there is opportunity for 
several forms of influence most desirable for a pastor 
to exert. 

The pastor, therefore, should study the subject 
from his own peculiar point of view, and be pre- 
pared to adapt each sacramental occasion to the spe- 
cial spiritual profit of his people. It may be with 
him a question whether to turn the influence of any 
given sacrament upon some one important phase of 
Christian experience, or to bring it to bear upon vari- 
ous phases that may represent the necessities of dif- 
ferent members of his flock. For instance, there 
might be a condition of religious declension in the 
Church, in which it would seem all-important to 
break the spell of indifference, and rouse at once 
the hope and the activity of professed Christians. 
Again, there might be a state of revival, in which 
new converts, reclaimed backsliders, and advanced 
and advancing Christians would meet at the same 
sacramental service, and a word in season for each 
would require a large variety of address. Without 
attempting to discuss fully the great subject of the 



OBJECTS ATTAINABLE. 33 1 

holy saprament even in its bearing upon the one 
duty of worship, a few of its appropriate uses may 
be named. Under the direction of a wise pastor the 
sacrament of the Lord's-Supper may be made an 
occasion specially for either, or successively for all of 
the following spiritual exercises: 
i.r Close self-examination. 

2. Penitence for sin. 

3. Solemn reconsecration to God and his service. 

4. Devout commemoration of the Savior s death. 

5. Joyful anticipation of heaven. 

6. Triumphant hope of meeting the Savior and 
loved ones gone before. 

In view of such high designs and varied possibili- 
ties, how very important is it that every person called 
to administer the holy sacrament be properly quali- 
fied and prepared to render it in the highest degree 
a means of grace to Christian worshipers ! 

Additionally to all the responsibilities of conduct- 
ing public worship, Christian pastors are charged 
with similar obligations in reference to various forms 
of social worship, such as prayer-meetings, love-feasts, 
inquiry-meetings, and class-meetings. 

Since the days in which the disciples of our Lord 
waited in an upper room at Jerusalem for Prayei-mect- 
Ithe descent of the Holy Ghost, meetings '"^s- 
for social prayer have been found highly conducive to 
■ the prosperity of Churches and individual Christians. 
. The Wesleyan reformation was characterized by prom- 
)inent attention to prayer-meetings as a means of grace. 
:Such meetings were unknown in the Church of En- 
igland until introduced by Wesley, who gave this com- 



332 DESIGN OF PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

prehensive rule to his preachers : " Wherever you can, 
appoint prayer-meetings." As a result of his obser- 
vations for more than thirty years, Wesley wrote to 
Joseph Benson, in 1 772, " I love prayer-meetings, and 
wish they were set up in every corner of the town. 
But I doubt whether it would be well to drop any of 
the times of preaching." Here is the true idea of 
prayer-meetings. They are auxiliaries to the preach- 
ing of the gospel, not substitutes for it. In this light 
they have always been regarded and practiced in Wes- 
leyan Churches. From a pastoral point of view they 
need to be publicly and privately commended as com- 
prised among the privileges and duties of all Chris- 
tians. The obligation of the pastor, therefore, in ref- 
erence to them is twofold : 

1. To induce attendance upon them. 

2. To render them profitable to those who attend. 

To fulfill the first branch of this obligation, ad- 
vantage must be taken of the pulpit, from which the 
entire congregation can be instructed in all that re- 
lates to the design of prayer-meetings, their history 
and importance, and also the privilege and duty of 
attendance upon them, and participation in their ex- 
ercises. In connection with sermons or addresses on 
this subject it would be desirable to impress upon all, 
with equal earnestness, the duties of family and pri- 
vate prayer. Indeed, the universal duty of prayer 
should be fully set forth as beginning wdth the in- 
dividual invited to communion with his Maker, 
and extending from himself in his closet outwardly 
to, all the relations he sustains, whether in his family, 
his neighborhood, the Church, or the world. 



SUITABLE OCCASIONS AND PLACES. 333 

The idea of the prayer-meeting is to develop both 
the faith and the activity of every member of the 
Church. Its great possibihties, both as a means of 
spiritual profit and as an agency of power, are fully 
indicated in the Savior's promise : " Again I say unto 
you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touch- 
ing any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for 
them of my Father which is in heaven. For where 
two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them." Matt, xviii, 19, 20. 

Christians need not only to be fully impressed with 
their personal and social obligations inthe matter of 
prayer, but to be habituated to their faithful dis- 
charge. In a large Church great care and system 
are necessary lest some, through diffidence or tempta- 
tion, shrink from the exercise of their gift§, and bury 
their talent in obscurity. To prevent this, not only 
congregational prayer-meetings should be appointed, 
but young people's prayer-meetings, feniale prayer- 
meetings, and even children's prayer-meetings, in 
which, under suitable direction, the youngest and the 
weakest should be encouraged to let their voices be 
heard in prayer and praise. Under appropriate influ- 
ences the discharge of this duty may become a de- 
light so great that urgency to promote it will be 
unnecessary. 

In discharging the second branch of pastoral re- 
sponsibility, in regard to prayer-meetings some pre- 
liminaries need attention, such as the appointment of 
a suitable time and place. The material conditions 
of success should not be overlooked ; hence a conve- 
nient time and an attractive place, well lighted, well 



3 34 COND UCT OF PR A YER-MEE TINGS. 

warmed, and well ventilated, should, if possible, be 
provided. In the construction of churches, the pro- 
vision of rooms suitable for social prayer should be 
regarded as indispensably important. A prayer room 
ought not to be too large. Wide spaces and unfilled 
seats have a chilling effect upon the sympathies of a 
prayer circle ; whereas compactness and fullness con- 
tribute to favorable and hopeful impressions. Next 
to this class of arrangements should be the known 
habit of commencing and ending exactly at the time, 
rarely allowing the time to extend beyond an hour. 
As to the conduct of the meeting the leader should 
take his place in the midst of the people, and not 
remote from them. From the moment of beginning 
he should show himself prepared, both in thought and 
feeling, to strike an appropriate key-note for the serv- 
ice. If possible, he should be able to lead the sing- 
ing. If not, he should be aided by one who is. The 
singing, -the prayers, and the remarks of the leader 
should be models of brevity, of earnestness, and of 
the true spirit of worship. As a rule, prayer-meetings 
should be devoted to prayer and praise. Under the 
latter head may be included brief narrations of expe- 
rience ; but long exhortations and formal addresses, 
as well as long prayers, are out of place. While un- 
due urgency should be avoided, all present should be 
encouraged to take a part in the exercises, and that 
they may be, the leader should feel free to call on 
any one by name. On the other hand, when the time 
is well occupied, and not monopolized by a few, the 
freedom of speaking and praying, as prompted by the 
Spirit of God and a sense of duty, should be encour- 



SIL ENT PR A YER—REQ UESTS. 335 

aged. The leader of a pra3^er-meeting should be 
skillful to control any adverse tendencies that may 
manifest themselves, and to take advantage of any 
unexpected circumstance that may add interest to the 
meeting. Above all, he should be full of faith and 
the Holy Ghost, himself a worshiper, illustrating, by 
every word and action, the spirit of humble, joyful, 
and devout worship, thus continually pointing to 
heaven and leading the way. Much has of late been 
written and said of the faults of prayer-meetings, and 
various expedients have been suggested to render 
them interesting and profitable. The former is an 
ungrateful topic, and had better be avoided- if possible 
by a silent correction of whatever hinders the free- 
dom and fervency of devotion. Of the latter, occa- 
sional intervals of silent prayer, and the practice of 
calling for passages of Scripture at some period of the 
meeting, are to be commended, and also that of offer- 
ing requests for special prayer when the persons pre- 
senting them are themselves intent on imploring the 
blessings for which they ask others to pray. 

The recent interest in noonday prayer-meetings, and 
meetings for the promotion of holiness, together with 
the publication of numerous incidents connected with 
them, has added largely to the mass of- suggestions 
previously on record, and deserving the attention of 
ministers and all others anxious to promote the suc- 
cess of prayer-meetings, either in a public or private 
capacity. Without admitting that prayer-meetings 
should be governed by unbending rules, but rather 
by the enlightened judgment of responsible Christian 
men, we nevertheless insert, as worthy of attention, 



336 BRAMWELUS RULES. 

Rules for the Conduct of Prayer-meetings, published 
by Rev. William Bramwell, of early Methodistic 
celebrity : 

" I. Never let more than one person pray or be heard to pray 
at the same time. 

'■'• 2. Let all in the congregation who feel what they utter at 
the close of each petition say Amen ! 

"3. Never sing praise till the person engaged in prayer has 
concluded. 

"4. Persons in distress may be spoken to by others at the 
time of prayer, but with a low voice, 

" 5. When a soul is saved — whether it be justification, sancti- 
fication, or backslidings healed — whoever becomes acquainted 
with the circumstance, let him make it known to the preacher 
or the person who conducts the meeting, that the singers, with 
the whole congregation, may give thanks. 

"Abide strictly by these rules, dear brethren, and from the 
New Testament, the practice of the primitive Church, and 
thousands of matters of fact, we are ready, from the jjulpit and 
the press or in private conversation, to vindicate your work in 
the Lord. 

'■'■Nottingham, I799-" 

It will be seen that Bramwell regarded prayer- 
meetings as an agency of revivals, of penitent awak- 
enings, and immediate conversions — an idea which 
ought never to become obsolete in the Church. 

Among the solid religious privileges of Christians, 
deserved prominence should be given to a 

Love-feasts. - ^ . 

class of services called, in ancient times, 
ayd^at, feasts of charity, (Jude, 12 ;) in modern times, 
love-feasts. Love-feasts are characterized by the free 
narration of Christian experience, mingled with songs 
of praise. They are usually introduced by^ all present 
partaking of bread and water, in token of mutual fel- 
lowship. The leader of a love-feast has it largely in 



FEASTS OF CHARITY. 337 

his power to give character to the meeting by suit- 
able introductory remarks, and the pertinent narration 
of his own experience. 

The Discipline directs the pastor to " sufifer no love- 
feast to last more than an hour and a half," so that, 
in case of a large attendance, brevity should be en- 
joined. Skillful presidency in a love-feast, or general 
class-meeting, will induce rapid rotation in speaking, 
without a sense of hurry and undue pressure. This 
is done by so judging of the proprieties of the occa- 
sion as to be able to impress upon those present the 
measure of their duty and the importance of perform- 
ing it promptly and to edification. While some min- 
isters have suffered formality and languor to become 
spots on these feasts of charity, others have fallen into 
a mistake, scarcely less objectionable, in the ambition 
to secure (and report) the greatest possible number 
of speeches in a given time. Undue brevity tends 
either to vagueness or attempts at saying starthng 
things, both of which are at variance with the sim- 
plicity and godly sincerity of true Christian experi- 
ence. A person had better not speak in a religious 
meeting if he can not be allowed to speak naturally, 
and thus, in the highest sense, truthfully. At the 
same time, it is more profitable to hear fewer ad- 
dresses that have weight, balance, and meaning in 
them than many which are, by extreme haste or brev- 
ity, deprived of the elements of edification. If the 
object be merely to secure an assent to truth, or an 
outward sign of conscious justification or adoption, it 
may be secured instantaneously by a hundred per- 
sons lifting their hand or rising to their feet at once. 

29 



338 VOLUNTARY PRINCIPLE. 

While in some circumstances such a measure might 
not be objectionable, yet pantomime is not to be 
commended in a Christian love-feast ; but, on the 
other hand, clearness and definiteness of verbal ex- 
pression, joined with a wholesome brevity. The vol- 
untary principle should prevail in a love-feast, and the 
occasions are rare wherein it would be proper to call 
on individuals to speak. Nevertheless, it is often 
proper to designate classes as specially entitled to 
speak, and from whom the Church would prefer to 
hear ; for instance, aged Christians, young converts, 
females, or other classes of persons needing special 
encouragement. 

The apostolic command, " Let all things be done 
unto edifying," is the proper motto for a Christian 
love-feast, and Christian people should be taught and 
exhorted, not only at the moment, but in advance, to 
prepare themselves, by meditation and prayer, to be 
able to " comfort themselves together and edify one 
another," as was the custom of Christians in apostolic 
times. The bearings of the love-feast and similar 
meetings upon the religious prosperity of a Church 
are so direct that every true pastor should desire 
earnestly to have every member share in its advan- 
tages and contribute to its general profit, Formerly, 
in our history, it was customary to admit only by 
tickets bearing the name of the individual, and some 
appropriate verse of Scripture. The object was to 
prevent the intrusion of worldly persons, or mere 
spectators ; but it can hardly be doubted that this 
mode of admission tended also to secure greater reg- 
ularity of attendance, and a higher appreciation of 



TRUE TYPE OF THE LOVE-FEAST. 339 

this means of grace. Be that as it may, the custom 
has so nearly disappeared that pastors must adapt 
their arrangements to the present state of things, and 
endeavor to compensate for any loss in the selectness 
of the meeting by the greater advantage of those who 
do attend, inclusive of the children and friends of the 
Church, who might have been unwilling to apply 
for tickets. 

As love and joy are twin fruits of the Spirit, so the 
type of the true love-feast is one of joyfulness and 
thanksgiving. Sweet memories of past deliverances 
and victories of faith, mingled with present assur- 
ances of the divine approval and glad anticipations 
of future happiness and glory, are the current topics 
of mutual comfort in a love-feast, in no way deterio- 
rated by sincere confessions of the short-comings and 
better purposes of Christians, or the tears and hopes 
of penitents. 

While it is appropriate to encourage seekers of re- 
ligion to attend love-feasts and class-meet- inquiry-meet- 
ings, it is, perhaps, more important for '"^^• 
pastors at first to meet them separately for special 
conversation. At all times of revival or special relig- 
ious concern such meetings should be appointed, and 
every encouragement given to persons, young and old, 
to call upon the pastor for religious conference and 
counsel. The pastor must use his discretion whether 
to see such persons collectively or singly. The latter 
mode seems generally preferable, as better adapted to 
call out a frank expression of the facts in each case, 
which are most important to be known as a basis of 
suitable advice. In a meeting with religious inquirers 



340 SERIOUS INQUIRY. 

it is of great importance to disembarrass the diffident, 
to encourage the doubting and despondent, to probe 
to the quick the self-righteous and the scoffing, if 
such appear, and to lead all successfully to the Savior 
of sinners. Great kindness of manner and sweetness 
of spirit are indispensably requisite to call out the 
attendance and secure the confidence of the class of 
persons whom an inquiry-meeting is designed to reach 
and benefit. But in these no pastor should be lack- 
ing, and even though, no inquirers should come on a 
first invitation, it is well to persevere in making the 
invitation until it is accepted, and continue it while 
there is hope of its further acceptance. 

As the subject of class-meetings and the duties of 
Class-meet- class-lcadcrs will be more fully treated in 
mgs. Chapter XIV, it seems only necessary to 

say a few words in this connection in reference to 
a pastor's personal duty toward the classes in his 
Church. Every pastor should be a good class-leader. 
In every Church there should be a pastor's class. 
Besides giving the attention due to his own class, 
the pastor should visit in turn all the classes, and 
share with the several leaders the duty of speaking 
to the members. In this way he may make an inti- 
mate and profitable acquaintance with the religious 
state of his members severally, and also greatly aid 
and encourage the leaders of the several classes, thus 
promoting, through this important agency, the gen- 
eral spirituality of his Church. 

Without further reference to special occasions of 
worship, it may be mentioned that a pastor should 
regard it as his duty to introduce and conduct 



WORSHIP IN SOCIAL SCENES. 34 1 

worship in connection with the various benevolent 
activities and miscellaneous assemblies of worship in so- 
his charge. Unless he do this or provide ciai assemblies. 
that it be done at festivals, sociables, lectures, and 
other gatherings, the proper recognition of God and 
of Christ will often be omitted, and an important 
feature of Church assemblies ignored. While, there- 
fore, he should guard against any ostentation of 
devotional services, and whatever would make them 
distasteful, he should, nevertheless, be zealous for the 
honor of God at all times, and should, as far as pos- 
sible, cultivate the happy art of "making manifest 
the savor of the knowledge of Christ in every place." 
2 Cor. ii, 14. 



342 



A DESIRABLE UNION, 



CHAPTER XL 

THE PASTOR IN HIS PULPIT. 

THE Christian pulpit has been justly called a 
throne of power. Among the agencies of min- 
isterial usefulness none can be higher than that of 
preaching the gospel of the Son of God. In addition 
to its primary task of calling sinners to repentance, 
it is the proper and most efficient instrumentality of 
promoting the various interests and activities of the 
Church. Reciprocally, all the legitimate activities of 
the Church react favorably upon the pulpit. Hence 
the pastor may hope to attain the highest degree of 
ministerial influence through his pulpit. Let it not 
be for one moment supposed that because the pas- 
toral office is magnified that of the preacher is under- 
valued. On the other hand, the highest glory of each 
office is to be found in its just relations to the other. 
Hence all who aim to become good pastors should 
none the less strive to become good preachers. 

As no degree of brilliancy or power in the pulpit 
will render pastoral duties unnecessary, so no degree 
of pastoral diligence will atone for weakness in the 
pulpit. Ministerial character as a whole derives its 
greatest strength and beauty from the development of 
all its functions in just and harmonious proportions. 



PASTORAL ADVANTAGES. 343 

This principle is not always appreciated as it ought 
to be, and young men frequently fall into wrong 
judgments and mistaken courses from not being 
guided by it. Some, charmed with pulpit oratory or 
smitten with ambition for pulpit celebrity, become so 
engrossed with desires and efforts to preach well 
that they overlook the essential dignity and impor- 
tance of the less showy talent of pastoral influence. 
On the other hand, some, not hopeful of becoming 
pulpit orators, but determined to excel in pastoral 
duty, fail of accomplishing what they might as 
preachers of the divine word. Let it be remem- 
bered that men are answerable not only for the 
right improvement of their talents, but also of their 
opportunities, and that the pastor's opportunities for 
preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ are 
incomparably superior to those of the occasional 
preacher, whatever position he may occupy. The 
former is with his people in sunshine as well as in 
storm, in scenes of trial and religious tenderness as 
well as of popular excitement and unnatural expect- 
ancy. If not called on to condense his whole mental 
power into an occasional effort, he has the more 
practicable and agreeable task of doing the right 
thing at the right time, and the privilege of gather- 
ing harvests as well as of sowing seed. With refer- 
ence to what the writer has heretofore published on 
preaching, it is not deemed necessary to treat that 
subject at length in this connection, but rather to add 
a few suggestions of special importance to pastors. 

Every one who has accepted the pastoral office 
doubtless considers himself divinely commissioned to 



344 ^-^^ DESIGN OF PREACHING. 

"preach the word." Every one who feels upon his 
heart the weight of a charge of souls must also cher- 
ish intense anxiety to wield to its fullest extent the 
power of an agency specially appointed for the pro- 
mulgation of Christian truth, the awakening of con- 
science, and the translation of men from the power 
of darkness into the light and liberty of the children 
of God. Without the accomplishment of such results 
one's ministry is fruitless, and its services are a vain 
formality. But in the accomplishment of such results 
God's plan can not be ignored, and, however much 
we may multiply auxiliary efforts, the word of truth 
must continue to be preached in "the demonstration 
of the spirit and of power." If the pastor neglects 
this great duty, who will attend to it.'* If he desires 
to perform it with zeal and efficiency, how shall he 
best succeed.-* 

In answer to the last question it may be said that 
for a pastor to fill the measure of his responsibility 
in the Christian pulpit of the present day much more 
is necessary than to have good desires and wholesome 
purposes. His soul must be imbued with the grand- 
eur of his calling, he must have a correct theory of 
action, he must put forth tireless efforts, and he must 
earnestly seek and confidently rely on divine aid. In 
more detail the following positions may be affirmed: 

I. The pastor mitst keep before his mind just and 
clear ideas of the sacred design of the preacher s office, 
and of the responsibility of every effort in which it is 
sought to be exercised. Where a duty is perpetually 
recurring there is a tendency to become careless in 
its performance. Circumstances reiterated with but 



EXALTED IDEAL, 345 

little variation lose their power of impression, and 
the mind, without the stimulus of an active faith, 
lapses into a dull routine, and seeks its ease in the 
idea that to-morrow will be as this day, and perhaps 
more abundant in its opportunities of usefulness. 
Thus occasions never to return are allowed to go by 
with at best a formal and perfunctory improvement, 
or their duties are shifted off upon others with the 
zest of a task escaped. It is marvelous to observe 
what zeal is sometimes manifested in seeking to be 
relieved from the duty of preaching, and with what 
readiness indifferent aid is accepted, as if pastoral 
responsibility could be transferred at will, and possi- 
bly the talent of the pastor heightened by an unfa- 
vorable contrast. 

How unworthy all this of an earnest man of God, 
a man conscious of being commissioned to bear the 
message of the Lord to dying men! Indeed, it will 
never occur in the history of one who realizes in any 
just degree the value of souls and the sacredness of 
his obligations to enhghten and save them according 
to the best of his ability and opportunity. 

2. The pastor shotdd cherish an exalted idea of what 
a sermon ought to be and to accomplish. How many 
seem to regard it as a mere ceremony, or at most an 
occasion to appear before the public ! Whereas the 
true pastor conceives of a sermon as an instrumen- 
tality divinely appointed for the highest objects con- 
nected with his work in striving to build up Christ's 
kingdom upon earth ; such as the overthrow of error, 
the establishment of truth, the conversion of sinners, 
the edification and sanctification of believers. Never- 



346 DEFINITE AIM, 

theless, he does not confuse his own mind, nor the 
minds of his hearers, by attempting too many distinct 
objects at once. On the other hand, he concentrates 
his thoughts and focalizes his power by aiming at one 
definite result in each sermon. Unless that result is 
accomplished he is not satisfied, however others may 
be pleased or disposed to compliment his effort. An- 
alyzing the processes by which results are attained, 
he is contented to take one step at a time, and to 
repeat the effort if necessary to actual progress. Thus 
his successive sermons become means to ends, and, 
with the divine blessing, are made to mark successive 
epochs of advancement toward the grand results at 
which he aims. He may indeed be often painfully 
conscious of falling below his own ideal of a sermon, 
but nevertheless will not yield to discouragement, but 
will, with the greater diligence, aim to do his best in 
each succeeding effort. This perpetual and consci- 
entious aim at appropriate and specific results will 
have the happy effect of elevating the preacher above 
the petty ambition of fine writing and pretty speaking. 
Prof Hoppin's recent work on the ministry contains 
a pertinent caution against mere ornamentation in 
pulpit style. 

" In any ornament we may employ, let us ask our- 
selves, Does this increase the effect of my sermon ? 
Does it aid the thought } If not, reject it. There is 
no such curse to a writer as the desire oifi?ie writing. 
It clings to one worse than the robe of Nessus, and it 
must be given up at any sacrifice." 

In the same category with the desire of fine writing 
must be classed the ambition of " smart speaking," of 



VARIETY. 347 

Uttering paradoxes and startling sayings of various 
kinds. Few things are more derogatory to a preach- 
er's manhood, or tend more effectually to Avoid low am- 
deprave his own taste and that of his hear- ^'*'°"^- 
ers, than a craving and striving after celebrity by 
means of odd and extravagant expressions. Palpable 
proof of this, in both forms, is furnished by a volume 
made up entirely of detached paragraphs, purporting 
to have been reported from the sermons of a popular 
preacher, and published recently under the title of 
" Pulpit Pungencies."* 

3. The pastor should activate a keen sense of propri- 
ety as to the lengtJi of his sermons. This is better 
than to be governed by any fixed rule. Recognizing 
the general importance of brevity in pulpit addresses, 
the CathoHc, Mullois, seems to think he has attained 
the acme of perfection by prescribing sermons of 
seven minutes each ! This rule appears to Protest- 
ants trivial in the extreme ; yet it would be better to 
follow it than to indulge in the tediousness which some 
preachers habitually inflict upon their hearers. Tedi- 
ousness in a pastor is not only intolerable, but is with- 
out apology, in view of the frequency with which he 
appears before his people. 

4. The pastor should make sure of variety, both in 
his subjects and modes of treatment. The principle 
of variety harmonizes perfectly with that of brevity 
and deiiniteness of aim. When properly followed, it 
■guards equally against vagueness and self-repetition, 
both of which often result from attempting too much. 

* One who has examined the volume suggests that the title of " Pul- 
pit Strainings '' would have been quite as appropriate ! 



348 CONTINUOUS EXPOSITION. 

Dr. Nott well said : " Those who put a whole body 
of divinity into one sermon always preach pretty much 
the same thing ; while they who confine themselves 
to the illustration and application of a single point, 
will always be able to present something new." But 
unity of theme is scarcely more desirable than variety 
of treatment. Sameness of method becomes as in- 
sipid as tameness of thought. Hence the pastor 
should be able to employ the various modes of pul- 
pit discussion, in adaptation to their proper objects. 
Indeed, he should study adaptation, both of matter 
and of manner, as a cardinal element of success. 

5. He should practice cotitinuous expositions of the 
word of God. Although expository discourses are 
possible to all preachers, yet the pastor exclusively 
enjoys opportunities for systematic and continuous 
expositions of revealed truth. Observe what is said 
of the importance and manner of that kind of 
preaching by living pastors. Dr. Howard Crosby, 
of New York, writes respecting the order of work in 
his Church, among other items, the following: 

" Expository sermons are preached every Sunday afternoon, 
in the regular second service of the Lord's day. I use about 
twenty verses — according to the natural divisions of the sub- 
ject — of historical or narrative portions, and make it a continu- 
ous exposition. I began with Exodus ii — birth of Moses — and 
am now at David's contest with Goliath — i Sam. xvii. It has 
taken me three years to go thus far. I have no manuscript for 
these expositions, nor do I prepare any rhetoric for them. They 
are plain discourses. But I study three days on each exposi- 
tion, using every help of Hebrew history, geograph}', archaeol- 
ogy, etc., and much prayer. These exercises have made my 
people Bible students. One of these discourses I consider 
worth a dozen of my set sermons." 



STUDY OF THE WORD. ^^g 

Mr. Spurgeon, of London, says: 

" Earnestly do I advocate commenting. It is unfashionable 
in England, though somewhat more usual beyond the Tweed. 
The practice was hardly followed up anywhere in England a 
few years ago, and it is very uncommon still. In order to exe- 
cute it well the commenting minister will at first have to study 
twice as much as the mere preacher, because he will be called 
upon to prepare both his sermons and his expositions. As a 
rule I spend much more time over the exposition than over dis- 
courses. Once start a sermon with a great idea, and from that 
moment the discourse forms itself without much labor to the 
preacher, for truth naturally consolidates and crystallizes itself 
around the main subject like sweet crystals around a string 
hung up in sirup. But as for the exposition, you must keep to 
the text, you must face difficult points, and must search into the 
mind of the Spirit rather than your own. You will soon reveal 
your ignorance as an expositor if you do not study; therefore 
diligent reading will be forced upon you. Any thing which 
compels the preacher to search the grand old Book is of im- 
mense service to him. If any are jealous lest the labor should 
injure their constitutions, let them remember that mental work 
upon a certain point is most refreshing, and where the Bible is 
the theme toil is delight. It is only when mental labor passes 
beyond the bounds of common sense that the mind becomes 
enfeebled by it, and this is not usually reached, except by inju- 
dicious persons, or men engaged on subjects which are unre- 
freshing and disagreeable. But our subject is a recreative one, 
and to young men like ourselves the vigorous use of our facul- 
ties is a most healthy exercise. Classics and mathematics may 
exhaust us, but not the volume of our Father's grace, the char- 
ter of our joys, the treasure of our wealth." 

Dr. Tholuck, of Germany, has also said : 

" It is one of the most difficult forms of preaching to render 
an extended exposition impressive and profitable, but it is one 
of the highest and most admirable. It can not be done purely 
extemporaneously. It requires careful study, and will call into 
requisition all the natural and acquired abilities of the studious 
minister. But such a habit of ministration will greatly enrich 
pulpit discourses, present the word of God in such a manner 



350 LIVING THOUGHT. 

that it will exert its own native and divine force over the intel- 
lect and conscience, and reheve it of those difficulties with 
which prejudice, ignorance, and science falsely so-called have 
invested the Scriptures. Essay preachers must often be at a 
loss for subjects. Sensation preachers depend upon the pass- 
ing events of the day, which constantly repeat themselves and 
exhaust their own power. The Bible, if it be thoroughly stud- 
ied and made the theme of pulpit ministration, will be found to 
be an inexhaustible mine of intellectual and spiritual truths. 
The true interpretation of God's message to man is the prime, 
as it is the very responsible, work of the minister of the gospel." 

The pastor who has never secured for himself or 
his people the advantages of continuous expository 
preaching should set about the task without delay. 

6. The pastor should accustom himself to secure val- 
uable hints for his sermons in his intercourse ivith the 
people. He should also acquire the habit of thinking- 
out the matter of his discourses while on his rounds 
of daily and weekly duty. Some ministers slight 
their pastoral work as a result of tedious and pro- 
tracted toil on their sermons, and others slight their 
sermons while attending to pastoral work. Both 
classes of errors may be avoided. It is a false phi- 
losophy that supposes the mind incapable of more 
than one thought or train of thought at a time. 
The pastor must reject it, and prove its falsity by 
acquiring the habit here recommended. He may 
thus double his working capacities in the best of all 
employments. Besides, those sermons are the best 
that spring up and grow in the mind under the influ- 
ence of air and sunshine rather than under the forcing 
process of hot-bed culture. 

These remarks are based on the view that truth 
and thought, not verbiage, constitute the essential 



THE SERMON A GROWTH. 351 

elements of a sermon, and also on the supposition 
that the pastor has acquired, as a part of his prelimi- 
nary preparation, the capacity of promptly and forci- 
bly expressing whatever thought his mind can clearly 
conceive. They furthermore contemplate the sermon 
as a mental birth. A germ of scriptural truth having 
been lodged in the mind and heart, it grows with the 
experience and the mental and spiritual growth of 
the composer, partaking jointly of the original nature 
of the germ itself and the individuality of the mind 
in which it is expanded and given form and being. 
Without this mental elaboration and development 
there is no sermon proper, however fragments may 
be collated or words concatenated. A r^-creation 
must take place in order to secure organic symmetry 
and life. Thus alone will it be invested with reality 
and power to the hearer. A similar view has been 
expressed by an anonymous writer under the figure 
of a tree : 

"A tree is worthless without the root — and a rootless sermon 
is such a tree — fit only to be burned. No sermon is worthy of 
the name — it may be an essay, but it can not be dignified into a 
sermon — which does not strike itself into the Scripture, and 
draw up out of that its meaning and its fife. A sermon should 
be evolved out of the Scripture like a tree out of its root. An 
address ready-made, which goes mousing about the Bible seek- 
ing a text which it may use as a 'motto ' or 'by way of accom- 
modation,' stays an address forever, and can not become a 
sermon. To preach is to declare the word of God, and the 
word of God is the Bible, and the Scripture must always sustain 
an organic and vital relation to the sermon. The impulse to 
the sermon should come from the Scripture, just as the impulse" 
toward the tree originates in the seed. 

" Patient, laborious, thoughtful study of the word is, then, the 
first duty of the man who would preach. The seed of the ser- 



352 FORCIBLE DELIVERY, 

mon should lie in the text, and then all varying influences of 
experience and reading, and the needs of the congregation, 
should foster and minister to it, just as the air, and rain, and 
light serve the tree. And it is marvelous, the freshness and 
variety of these suggestions of the Scripture to a man who 
keeps his heart sensitive toward the Bible and his eyes opened 
toward life." 

Under guise of the same figure, it has been well 
said, that " the sap of the text should reach the fur- 
thest twig of the sermon." 

7. A pastor sJiould deliver his sermons with feeling 
and effect. In order to this he must address the sen- 
sibilities as well as the intellect. As eloquence is the 
language of emotion, so no high grade of pulpit elo- 
quence was ever attained apart from deep religious 
feeling ; but when that feeling exists in reality, and 
has a just expression, true eloquence is never want- 
ing. A free and powerful expression of religious 
feeling was the distinguishing characteristic of Meth- 
odist preaching in early times ; and may the day be 
distant when that characteristic shall disappear from 
among us I 

Feeling and thought should always be corre- 
spondent to each other. Feeling without thought 
flashes and burns Out like oil without a wick. Feel- 
ing, properly blended with thought, and tempered by 
it, burns brightly and steadily, like tlie unwasting 
lamp of truth. But no pretense, no affectation, and 
no vociferation can atone for a lack of true feeling. 
It must exist in the heart of the speaker, or the ser- 
mon will fall flat and powerless upon the audience. 
Religious feeling is sympathetic. It is not only com- 
municated by the preacher to his hearers, but by 



ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS. 353 

hearers to their preacher. Hence a pastor, who has 
a strong hold upon the sympathies and the affections 
of his people, possesses peculiar advantages for doing 
them good by his preaching, while he may receive 
corresponding advantages from their .earnest attention 
and active sympathy. A pastor should therefore give 
his people to understand the objects at which his 
discourses aim, and encourage them to take the same 
objects upon their own hearts, and to pray fervently 
that the word of the Lord may be rendered " quick, 
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, 
piercing to the dividing asunder of the soul and the 
spirit." Heb. iv, 12. When an earnest Church thus 
sympathizes with a faithful pastor, then, indeed, may 
he rejoice in the privilege of preaching the everlasting 
gospel to them, and to all that have ears to . hear. 
But he has no right to ask for the sympathies of his 
people, nor even the blessing of God, as a substitute 
for proper study and effort on his own part. Proper 
study and effort on the part of a preacher, not only 
lead to the diligent preparation of particular sermons, 
but to a general cultivation of his capabilities as an 
orator; such as a complete development and disci- 
pline of his voice, the capacity of appropriate and 
impressive gesture, and especially the habit of con- 
ceiving strongly and holding definitely before his own 
mind the object to be accomplished in the minds of 
his hearers. For the attainment of that object he 
must cherish an ardent desire, together with firm 
convictions of the power and adaptation of the truth 
he utters, for its accomplishment then and there. 
Faint expectations of immediate and decisive results 

30 



354 RELIGIOUS CONSISTENCY. 

neutralize the most brilliant pulpit talents, and ren- 
der preaching a powerless ceremony. O that pastors 
would henceforth speak to the people with an earnest- 
ness, a confidence, and a determination worthy of the 
message they bear, and of the high vocation with 
which they are called! 

8. The pastor nmst sustain his pidpit utterances by a 
pure life and a consistent example. The truth of this 
position is not only self-evident, but it is corroborated 
by many facts, both of a positive and of a negative 
character. Of the latter the following incident has 
been published as an example: 

" A young minister, after preaching very earnestly in a cerlain 
chapel, had to walk some four or five miles to his home, along a 
country road, after service. A young man, who had been deeply 
impressed under the sermon, requested the privilege of walking 
with the minister, with an earnest hope that he might get an 
opportunity of telling his feelings to. him and obtaining some 
word of guidance or comfort. Instead of that the young min- 
ister, all the way along, told tales to those who were with him, 
causing loud roars of laughter. He stopped at a certain house, 
and this young man with him, and the whole evening was spent 
in frivolity and foolish talking. Years after, when the minister 
had grown old, he was sent for to the bedside of a dying man. 
He hastened thither with a heart desirous to do good. He was 
requested to sit down at the bedside, and tlie dying man, look- 
ing at him and regarding him most closely, said to him, 'Do 
you remember preaching in such and such a village, and on such 
an occasion ?' ' I do,' said the minister. ' I was one of your 
hearers,' said the man, ' and I was deeply impressed by the ser- 
mon.' 'Thank God for that,' said the minister. 'Stop!' said 
the man, ' do n't thank God until you have heard the whole 
story ; you will have reason to alter your tone before I have 
done.' The minister changed countenance, but he little guessed 
what would be the full extent of that man's testimony. Said 
he : ' Sir, do you remember, after you had finished that earnest 
sermon, that I, with some others, walked home with you ? I 



BELIEVING PRAYER. 355 

was sincerely desirous of being led in the right path that night, 
but I heard you speak in such a strain of levity, and with so 
much coarseness, too, that I went outside the house, while you 
were sitting down to your evening meal ; I stamped my foot 
upon the ground : I said that you were a liar; that Christianity 
was a falsehood; that if you could pretend to be so earnest 
about it in the pulpit, and then come down and talk like that, 
the whole thing must be a sham ; and / have been an injidel^^ 
said he, '■a confirmed infidel^ from that day to this. But I am 
not an infidel at this moment ; I know better. I am dying and 
about to be damned, and at the bar of God I will lay my damna- 
tion to your charge. My blood is upon your head.' And with 
a dreadful shriek, and one demoniacal glance at the trembling 
minister, he shut his eyes and died." 

Whether young or old, ministers can not be too 
careful to be exemplars of the truth they proclaim, 
and to illustrate, by all their words and actions, the 
beauty of holiness. 

9. The pastor should regard believiiig prayer as an 
auxiliary of true pulpit success. His prejoarations for 
preaching should be begun, continued, and ended in 
the spirit of prayer, and accompanied by frequent acts 
of supplication for divine aid and the heavenly unc- 
tion ; and having done his best in all the legitimate 
means of preparation, let him, in the act of preaching, 
"cast his care on him that careth for him," continu- 
ally supplicating and confidently expecting help " from 
one that is mighty." 

Under the old motto, " If we Vv'ould reap in the pul- 
pit, we must sow in the closet." C. H. Spurgeon has 
made the following memorable utterances : 

"Of course the preacher is above all others distinguished as 
a man of prayer. He prays as an ordinary Christian, else he 
were a hypocrite. He prays more than ordinary Christians, else 
he were disqualified for the office which he has undertaken. ' It 



356 WRESTLING WITH GOD. 

would be wholly monstrous,' says Bernard, 'for a man to be 
highest in office and lowest in soul ; first in station and last 
in life.' 

"A certain Puritan divine, at a debate, was observed fre- 
quently to write upon the paper before him; upon others curi- 
ously seeking to read his notes, they found nothing upon the 
page but the words, ' More light. Lord,' ' More light, Lord,' re- 
peated scores of times : a most suitable prayer for the student 
of the Word when preparing his discourse. 

"Prayer will singularly assist you in the delivery of your ser- 
mon. None are so able to plead with men as those who have 
been wrestling with God on their behalf It is said of Alleine, 
'He poured out his very heart in prayer and preaching. His 
supplications and his exhortations were so aftectionate, so full 
of holy zeal, life, and vigor, that they quite overcame his hearers ; 
he melted over them, so that he thawed and molHfied, and some- 
times dissolved, the hardest hearts.' A truly pathetic delivery, 
in which there is no affectation, but much affection, can only be 
the offspring of prayer. There is no rhetoric like that of the 
heart, and no school for learning it like the foot of the cross. 
It were better that you never learned a rule of human oratory, I 
but were full of the power of heaven-born love, than that you 
should master Quintihan, Cicero, and Aristotle, and remain 
without the apostolic anointing. 

"As fresh springs of thought will frequently break up during 
preparation, in answer to prayer, so will it be in the delivery of 
the sermon. Most preachers, who depend upon God's Spirit, 
will tell you that their freshest and best thoughts are not those 
which are premeditated, but ideas which come to them flying, as 
on the wings of angels — unexpected treasures, brought on a 
sudden by celestial hands, seeds of the flowers of Paradise, 
wafted from the mountains of myrrh. Often and often, when I 
have felt hampered both in thought and expression, my secret 
groaning of heart has brought me relief, and I have enjoyed 
more than usual liberty. But how dare we pray in the battle, if 
we never cried to the Lord while buckling on the harness ? The 
remembrance of his wrestling at home comforts the fettered 
preacher when in the pulpit. God will not desert us unless we 
have deserted him. Brethren, prayer before preaching will in- 
sure you strength equal to your day. 

"As the tongues of fire came upon the apostles, when they 



WHEELS OF FIRE. 357 

sat watching and praying, even so will they come upon you. 
You will find yourselves, when you might perhaps have flagged, 
suddenly upborne, as by a seraph's power. Wheels of fire will 
be fastened to your chariot, which had begun to drag right 
heavily, and angelic steeds will be in a moment harnessed to 
your fiery car, till you chmb the heavens, like Elijah, in a rapt- 
ure of flaming inspiration. 

" How often have some of us tossed to and fro upon our 
couch, half the night, because of conscious short-comings in 
our testimony ! How frequently have we longed to rush back to 
the pulpit again, to say over again more vehemently, what we 
have uttered in so cold a manner ! 

" Like Joseph, the affectionate minister will seek where to 
weep. His emotions, however freely he may express himself, 
will be pent up in the pulpit, and only in private prayer can he 
draw up the sluices and bid them pour forth. If we can not 
prevail with men for God, we will, at least, endeavor to prevail 
with God for men. We can not save them, or even persuade 
them to be saved, but we can at least bewail their madness, and 
entreat the interference of the Lord. Like Jeremiah, we can 
make it our resolve, ' If ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep 
in secret places for your pride, and mine eyes shall weep sore 
and run down with tears.' To such pathetic appeals the Lord's 
heart can never be indifferent ; in due time the weeping inter- 
cessor will become the rejoicing winner of souls. There is a 
distinct connection between importunate agonizing and true suc- 
cess, even as between the travail and the birth, the sowing in 
tears and the reaping in joy. ' How is it that your seed comes 
up so soon?' said one gardener to another. 'Because I steep 
it,' was the reply. We must steep all our teachings in tears, 
'when none but God is nigh,' and their growth will surprise 
and delight us. 

" Satan's kingdom fears not our rhetoric, our literature, or 
our orthodoxy ; prayer is the master weapon, and the enemy 
quails before it. Vain are all our words till the word of the 
King comes to the conscience in answer to our prayers. 

" Could we read Jonathan Edwards' description of David 
Brainerd and not blush .? ' His life,' says Edwards, ' shows the 
right way to success in the works of the ministry. He sought 
it as a resolute soldier seeks victory in a siege or battle ; or as 
a man that runs a race for a great prize. Animated with love to 



358 ADVANTAGES OF PASTORS. 

Christ and souls, how did he labor always fervently, not only in 
word and doctrine, in public and private, but m prayers day and 
night, wrestling with God in secret, and travailing in birth, with 
unutterable groans and agonies, until Christ were formed in the 
hearts of the people to whom he was sent !' 

" We not only ought to pray more, but we imcst. The fact is, 
the secret of all ministerial success lies in prevalence at the 
mercy-seat. One bright benison which private prayer brings 
down upon the ministry is an indescribable and inimitable some- 
thing, better understood than named ; it is a dew from the Lord, 
a divine presence, which you will recognize when I say it is 'an 
unction from the Holy One.' 

"The getting up of fervor in hearers by the stimulation of it 
in the preacher is a loathsome deceit, to be scorned by honest 
men. ' To affect feeling,' says Richard Cecil, ' is nauseous and 
soon detected, but to feel is the readiest way to the hearts of 
others.' Unction is a thing which you can not manufacture, 
and its counterfeits are worse than worthless ; yet it is in itself 
priceless, and beyond measure needful if you would edify be- 
lievers and bring sinners to Jesus. To secret pleaders with 
God this secret is committed." 

In reviewing the subject of this chapter let actual 
and intending pastors ask themselves whether they 
fully appreciate the advantages of a Christian pulpit, 
a regular audience, and a sympathetic and prayerful 
Church interested in whatever gracious words may 
fall from their lips, not as a means of self-gratifica- 
tion or aggrandizement, but as an agency of making 
the world better, and of saving the souls of the per- 
ishing. If so, let them show that appreciation by 
striving diligently and prayerfully to sustain their pul- 
pits in a manner worthy of him who hath called them 
to be preachers of righteousness in the great congre- 
gation. Ps. xl, 9. 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL IDEA. 359 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

WITH the progress and more complete develop- 
ment of Christianity in the earth, Christian labor 
becomes divided into a greater number of departments 
and more perfectly systemized in its details. Within 
the last hundred years this fact has been well illus- 
trated in the history of Sunday-schools, The Sun- 
day-school idea is no new discovery of modern times. 
It dates back to the morning of the world's religious 
history. Its fundamental element is found in God's 
original gift to man of the Sabbath as a period of 
physical rest and moral culture. The divine appoint- 
ment of a weekly day of rest indicated the wants and 
provided for the welfare of the race, children included. 
But the element of special religious instruction for 
children was additionally prescribed in Judaism. See 
Deut. xi, 19-21; Deut. xxxi, 11-13. 

When the peculiar privileges of the Jews as a na- 
tion were about to be withdrawn on account of their 
unfaithfulness, the promise of the Messiah was re- 
newed with the assurance that he should turn the 
hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of 
the children to the fathers. Mai. iv, 6. This promise 
was gloriously fulfilled in Christ, who in various ways 



360 DIVINE PLAN. 

instructed his disciples respecting the importance of 
childhood as a period of religious interest and culture, 
and with reference to the establishment of the king- 
dom of heaven upon earth. See Matt, xviii, 2-5 ; Mark 
X, 13-16. Children were pointed out with peculiar 
emphasis in the Lord's pastoral command to his dis- 
ciples, " Feed my lambs," and with scarcely less sig- 
nificance in the great commission which the risen 
Savior uttered in these words, saying, " All power is 
given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, there- 
fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world." Matt, xxviii, 19, 20. 

Since childhood is the proper and principal period 
of human instruction, how could it ever have been 
supposed that nations can be effectually taught with- 
out beginning with the children 1 And yet, in the 
Christian Church this great principle was overlooked 
for centuries — a fact of itself sufficient to account in 
a great measure for the slow advance of Christ's 
kingdom among the nations. Happily in the revival 
of the eighteenth century the spirit of the great 
Teacher's instructions to his disciples was also revived 
and more fully than ever before illustrated in special 
organizations for the religious instruction of children 
on the Lord's day. It is true that the Sunday-schools 
of Raikes and his immediate coadjutors had at first 
more of a philanthropic than a strictly religious char- 
acter, being taught by paid teachers, and devoted 
chiefiv to the elements of secular instruction. But in 



MODERN DEVELOPMENT. 36 1 

this respect they were like John the Baptist, harbin- 
gers of a better dispensation. Their measures hav- 
ing in themselves an intrinsic excellence sufficient to 
win the approbation of the philanthropic, they soon 
awakened the hopes and enlisted the religious zeal of 
those whose controlling anxiety was to spread and 
establish the kingdom of Christ in the earth. 

In July of 1784, the year in which Robert Raikes 
published an account of the first establishment of his 
Sunday-school in Gloucester, John Wesley made the 
following record in his journal : 

'''■Sim. 18. I preached morning and afternoon in Bingley 
Church, but it would not near contain the congregation. Before 
service I stepi>ed into the Sunday-school, which contains two 
hundred and forty children, taught every Sunday by several 
masters, and superintended by the curate. So, many children 
in one parish are restrained from open sin, and taught a little 
good manners as well as to read the Bible. I find these schools 
springing up wherever I go. Perhaps God may have a deeper 
end therein than men are aware of. Who knows but so7ne of 
these schools may become nurseries for Christians ?" 

Upon this grand idea of making Sunday-schools 
nurseries for Christians, the Methodists of that day 
laid hold with earnestness, initiating at once the sys- 
tem of gratuitous instruction which has ever since 
been the right arm of power .to the Sunday-school 
cause. So rapidly did the religious idea of the Sun- 
day-school spread, that the good Wesley was enabled 
to record in his journal of April 16, 1786: 

" I hastened back to Bolton. The house was crowded, the 
more because of five hundred and fifty children that are taught in 
our Sunday-schools ; such an army of them got about me when 
I came out of the chapel that I could hardly disengage myself 
from them." 

31 



362 THE RELIGIOUS IDEA. 

Again, Mr. Wesley wrote, April, 1788: 

^^ Frid. 18. Notice having been at Wigan of my preaching a 
sermon for the Sunda3'-schools, the people flocked from all 
quarters in such a manner as never was seen before. 

'^ Sat. 19. We went out to Bolton where I preached in the 
evening in one of the most elegant houses in the kingdom, and 
to one of the liveliest congregations. And this I must avow, 
there is not such a set of singers in any of the Methodist con- 
gregations in the three kingdoms. There can not be, for we 
have near a hundred such trebles, boys and girls selected out 
of our Sunday-schools and accurately taught, as are not found 
together in any chapel, catiiedral, or music-room within the four 
seas. Besides, the spirit with which they all sing and the beauty 
of many of them so suits the melody, that I defy any to exceed 
it, except the singing of angels in our Father's house. 

'■'Sun. 20. At eight, and at one, the house was thoroughly 
filled. About three, I met between nine hundred and a thou- 
sand of the children belonging to our Sunday-schools. I never 
saw such a sight before. They were all exactly clean as well as 
plain, in their apparel. All were serious and well behaved. 
Many, both boys and girls, had as beautiful faces as, I believe, 

England or Europe can afford What is best of all, 

many of them truly fear God, and some rejoice in his salvation. 
These are a pattern to all the town. Their usual diversion is 
to visit the poor that are sick (sometimes six, eight, or ten to- 
gether), to exhort, comfort, and pray with them. Frequently ten 
or more get together to sing and pray for themselves, sometimes 
thirty or forty, and are so earnestly engaged that they know not 
how to part. You children, that hear this, why should you not 
go and do likewise ? Let God arise and maintain his own cause, 
even out of the mouths of babes and sucklings." 

The religious idea of Sunday-schools having been 
inaugurated in the Church, and having also received 
the divine sanction as a favored instrumentality for 
promoting not only religious knowledge among youth 
and children, but also their genuine conversion, has 
continued to spread and prevail ever since. Notwith- 
standing many mistakes and much experimental effort, 



PROPER PURPOSES. 363 

perhaps inseparable from the first incorporation of 
Sunday-schools among the leading activ- 
ities of the Christian world, who can esti- 
mate the spiritual good that has resulted from them 
during the last fourscore years ? 

It is not the object of the present chapter to discuss 
the subject of Sunday-schools in its general aspect^ 
but only with specific reference to the duties and re- 
sponsibilities of pastors. It need not be denied that, 
among the acknowledged mistakes that have occurred 
■in the prosecution of the Sunday-school cause, hith- 
erto a full share may be attributed to the misconcep- 
tions, the indifference, or the neglect of pastors. It 
will not be profitable to dwell upon hinderances that 
have now, in a great measure, passed away, any further, 
at least, than may be necessary to guard against future 
mistakes. It should, however, be borne in mind, that 
wherever the Sunday-school is regarded as. an extra- 
neous institution, and not an actual part of the op- 
erations of a Christian Church, or as an enterprise 
belonging exclusively to the lay talent of the Church, 
and with which ministers have nothing to do, it is 
divorced from its proper relations, and put in a false 
position. That even in such a position it may accom- 
plish a certain degree of usefulness is quite possible ; 
but to be useful in the highest degree, the Sunday- 
school should be recognized, and should recognize 
itself, as a direct auxiliary to the work of God, in all 
its essential forms. In this view the Sunday-school 
becomes a " wheel within a wheel ;" a fold 

, . . _ , Objects. 

withm a fold ; a special organization of the 

youth and children of a Church for such purposes 



364 POSSIBLE DIFFICULTY. 

as these; viz.: i. To promote true religious worship, 
and, 2, a genuine religious life. 3. To diffuse sound 
religious knowledge. 4. To enlist the sympathies 
and activities of young and old in various religious 
enterprises. 

In this view, moreover, the Sunday-school appears 
as an auxiliary of pastoral labor of the highest prom- 
ise, and as that toward which a pastor should cherish 
a sincere and inalienable affection. 

But suppose it should be objected that the mana- 
gers and teachers of some Sunday-schools so far reject 
the supervision and co-operation of a pastor that he is 
obliged, out of self-respect, to hold himself aloof It 
may be answered that such a state of things can only 
be supposed possible as a result of mutual misunder- 
standing of each other's relations and duties, or of 
indiscretion on the one part or the other. If, on the 
one hand, a pastor should have assumed the offtce 
of arbitrary dictation, and have made the Sunday- 
school the scene or the occasion of some uncalled-for 
exercise of authority ; or if, on the other hand, Sun- 
day-school work or management should have been 
taken up as a means of social position, or a result of 
personal compliment, or, what is worse, if, on either 
part, a spirit of unkindness or of jealousy should have 
manifested itself, it would not be surprising that mu- 
tual repugnancy would have arisen to the great injury 
of all the interests involved. Such difficulties once 
created may be very difficult to remove, but may, 
nevertheless, be expected to yield to a persevering 
exercise of the principles that should have governed 
from the beginning; viz., mutual love, respect, obli- 



A PASTOR'S TRUE RELATION. 365 

gation, and even cross-bearing, for the sake of the 
divine Master. 

To all who accept the theory that the Sunday- 
school should be a part of the Church, as children 
form a part of the family to which they belong, there 
can never arise any serious doubt as to the relation 
which the pastor ought to sustain to the school and 
all connected with it. If there is any portion of the 
Church toward which he owes most affectionate and, 
continuous oversight it is certainly the Sunday-school. 
If there is any portion of Church work concerning 
which his solicitudes should never flag, and to which 
he should give his best thoughts and his most prom- 
ising efforts, it should be that which lays the founda- 
tion of the religious faith, life, and character of the 
children of his Church and congregation. Rare, in- 
deed, will be the case where such solicitudes and 
co-operation will be repelled, where indeed they will 
not be hailed with gladness on the part of Sunday- 
school workers of every grade, as what they most of all 
desire. It may now be affirmed with confidence, that 
the true position of a pastor in his Sunday- 

11' 1 r 1 r 1 "^^ overseer. 

school IS not that 01 a teacher 01 a class, 
nor of a superintendent, but rather that of a general 
pastoral overseer. Exceptionally,, indeed, and in any 
case of emergency, the pastor should be willing, while 
he should always be competent and prepared, to teach' 
a class or superintend the school. The prompt and 
efficient discharge of such duties, when special neces- 
sity may arise, will be of use to him personally, as 
well as a most useful example in the school and 
Church. But there are various reasons why ordina- 



366 A GENERAL OFFICER. 

rily a pastor should not accept a teachership or su- 
perintendency in his Sunday-school: 

1. In so doing he will leave talent idle which ought 
to be employed in that very work. 

2. He ought to be free for his own proper work and 
responsibility, which no one else can discharge for him. 

3. If regularly occupied he could not be free for 
the occasional duties which he might, in emergencies, 
render to any of the classes. Besides, "there might 
be danger of his so far overtasking his strength by 
regular service in the Sunday-school as to render him 
incapable of properly discharging his other Sabbath 
duties. These remarks are not designed to excuse 
the pastor from regular attendance on the Sunday- 
school, which, on the contrary, is urged as a duty 
for which he should make his plans and adapt his ar- 
rangements. In that duty he will experience great 
delight as well as exert an influence of incalcula- 
ble value. It may not be necessary for the pastor 
to attend during the whole session of the Sunday- 
An occasional school, but that hc should be present dur- 
teacher. jj^g gomc part of cacli session, and thus be 
a constant and interested observer of its conduct and 
progress, is highly important. In the case of a plu- 
rality of schools his visits to each one will be neces- 
sarily less frequent, but should be so distributed as to 
enable him to observe the workings of all and to 
render aid and advice when needed. 

This personal attendance of a pastor upon his 
Sunday-school work makes him better acquainted 
with his teachers and Sunday-school scholars than 
he could otherwise be, and thus secures for him a 



PASTOR'S DUTIES. 367 

place in their affections and an avenue of access to 
their hearts. Besides, it puts him in a position to 
represent properly all the interests of the Sunday- 
school in the public congregation. Hence, it may be 
remarked that the Sunday-school has strong claims 
upon the pastor, which call for frequent presentation 
through the pulpit. 

1. It is a pastor's duty to impress upon the parents 
,f a community the duty of sending their children 
regularly to the Sunday-school, and also of co-oper- 
ating, by faithful home instruction, to fasten sacred 
truth upon their minds. 

2. The pastor should set forth the honor and dig- 
nity of the Sunday-school teacher's office, and in all 
cases of need should personally enlist teachers to fill 
vacancies or to organize new classes and schools. 

3. The pastor, whenever occasion requires, should 
co-operate efficiently in raising funds in ample amount 
for all necessary Sunday-school purposes. 

4. He should aid, by his personal and intelligent 
advice, in selecting books and periodicals for the use 
of the Sunday-school scholars and teachers, including 
ample and suitable libraries for teachers. 

5. He should give proper counsel as to the selec- 
tions of lessons and plans of instruction to be pursued 
in the school. 

6. He should be both ingenious and discreet in de- 
vising plans to interest and profit the Sunday-school ; 
on the one hand seeing that a suitable variety of ex- 
ercises is secured, and on the other guarding against 
needless and profitless changes. 

One of the ways in which new interest is some- 



368 TO HIS SUNDA Y- SCHOOL. 

times promoted in a Sunday-school is by the publi- 
cation of a Sunday-school annual, in which items of 
special interest to the teachers and scholars of a 
school are coUpled with a pastoral address or whole- 
some religious counsels in some other form. 

7. A pastor should accustom himself to give brief 
and pertinent addresses in his Sunday-school, and 
also to preach to children on fitting occasions, using 
map and blackboard illustrations freely and forcibly. 

8. He should encourage the study of the cate- 
chism in his Sunday-school, and should arrange for 
catechising the children both in special and general 
exercises, thus making it sure that they all under- 
stand the great principles of Christian doctrine, and 
can vindicate them by Scripture proofs. It is also 
an excellent practice for a pastor to question children 
and young persons upon the catechism in a pleasant 
manner, as he may meet them occasionally at their 
homes or elsewhere, thus accustoming himself to 
great familiarity with the elements of Christian truth. 

9. The pastor should maintain, personally or by 
aid of his Sunday-school superintendent, a regular 
teachers' Bible-class, in which the successive lessons 
of the Sunday-school may be thoroughly discussed 
and the best modes of teaching suggested. 

10. In order to acquire and maintain the highest 
degree of influence in his Sunday-school, and to be 
sure of making the most of his opportunities in con- 
nection with the great and progressive enterprise of 
Sunday-school instruction, the pastor should read up 
on the subject, securing both from periodicals and 
from books the best ideas of the most successful 



GENERAL SUNDA Y- SCHOOL RELA TIONS. 369 

workers and writers engaged in the Sunday-school 
cause. For the same object, and also for the pur- 
pose of giving to others the results of his own ex- 
perience, it will be well for him to participate in 
Sunday-school conventions from time to time. 

II. Especially should the pastor be watchful of 
the religious interests of his own Sunday-school, 
and endeavor by all appropriate means to lead both 
teachers and scholars to a personal knowledge of 
their sins forgiven, and to an early identification 
with the Church of Christ. To this end he should 
have personal religious conversation with as many 
as possible, organizing all children of serious pur- 
poses into classes, with suitable leaders, who will 
instruct and encourage them in ways of piety and 
Christian duty. 

Such are some of the ways in which the faithful 
pastor may make his Sunday-school indeed a nurs- 
ery for Christians, and a most efficient agency for 
strengthening and enlarging the Church of God.* 

While the pastor should be thus diligent in the 
care and aid of his own Sunday-school, he should, 
also take into view the relations of the school and 
its operations to the great system of Sunday-school 
instruction throughout the Church to which he be- 
longs, and, indeed, throughout the nation and the 
world. In no Christian enterprise has the advantage 
of union of spirit and effort been already more exten- 

*See a valuable series of articles on the duties of a pastor to his 
Sunday-school, recently published by Rev. J. H. Vincent in the Sun- 
day-School Journal, New York. It ought to be issued in pamphlet 
form, for the convenient reading and consultation of all pastors. 



370 



BEARING ON CHURCH GROWTH. 



sively and happily secured than in the Sunday-school 
cause. As a result, great unity of public sentiment 
and great cordiality of mutual co-operation have been 
attained, accompanied with innumerable advantages 
to the cause itself, and also to the general interests 
of Christianity throughout the world. Thus the Sun- 
day-schools of the last half century have been the 
grand agency of supply for missionary laborers in all 
the lands where Christianity has sought to supplant 
heathenism and false religion. 

Sunday-schools have also contributed vast amounts 
for the support of missions, even building missionary 
ships, and freighting them with missionaries, and 
Bibles, and missionary supplies for regions out of the 
usual routes of commerce. But more than all, in a 
financial point of view, they have accomplished in 
educating the children of at least two successive 
generations to systematic beneficence. When a sur- 
vey is taken of the vast amounts contributed during 
recent years and now being annually given, not 
only to foreign missions, but to home evangelization, 
church-building, education, and other good causes, it 
is only just to remember that at the present period 
the great majority of Church members are those who 
came in through the Sunday-school, having learned 
in childhood the blessedness of giving. Thus it is 
that when the Church imitates the Savior by ''taking 
little children in her arms and blessing them" she 
blesses not them alone, but herself also, and all the 
enterprises by which "she is striving to enlighten and 
save a dark and sinful world. In the experiment 
already made, and now making in connection with 



ON MISSIONS. 371 

Sunday-schools on a scale of ever-increasing prom- 
ise, Christian pastors have the basis of a reasonable 
and confident hope for the wider and more effectual 
spread of Christianity, as well as its more perfect 
exemplification in the hearts and lives of both young 
and old, than the world has seen hitherto. In the 
last twenty-three years the Sunday-school statistics 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church alone have re- 
ported more than half a million of conversions in 
our Sunday-schools, the aggregate falling but little 
short of the total increase of Church members dur- 
ing the same period. Thus it appears that Sunday- 
schools are now, and may be expected to be hereafter, 
the great source of supply and increase of Churches 
in Christian lands, as well as training-schools for the 
development of Christian benevolence, and for the 
raising up of missionary workers for both the home 
and foreign work. Corresponding to this, all effective 
Christian missions find Sunday-schools essential aux- 
iliaries in the work of evangelizing heathen nations, 
and thus they are being established all over the world 
as radiating points of light in the midst of the moral 
darkness of paganism, Mohammedanism, and a cor- 
rupted Christianity. 

The pastor should not only appreciate the world- 
wide relations of his Sunday-school and the system 
of which it forms a part, but should impress these 
grand and soul-inspiring ideas upon the minds of his 
teachers and scholars, thus elevating their hopes, en- 
nobling their motives, and quickening their activities 
in the discharge of their ever-recurring and often 
self-denying duties. 



372 PASTORAL SOLICITUDE. 

With all their intrinsic excellence, Sunday-schools 
can not, of themselves, accomplish the full mission 
for which they are designed in the economy of the 
Church and the providence of God. The pastor is 
needed in the Sunday-school. His paternal eye and 
guiding hand should be on all its movements. His 
heart needs to be alive with all its sympathies, while 
his wisest foresight and his tenderest solicitudes 
should be constantly and systematically engaged to 
make it a blessing to all its members, and to the 
present and future Church of Christ. Moreover, it 
is only by systematic and continuous efforts on the 
part of successive pastors that some of the higher 
and cumulative advantages of Sunday-schools can be 
realized. Hence what is said to one should be said 
to all : Take the children of your Churches and con- 
gregations and nurse them for God. "Feed Christ's 
lambs." Be specially watchful that on reaching matu- 
rer years these children of hope and love do not stray 
from the fold. One of the best modes of retaining 
advanced scholars in the Sunday-school is to give 
them something to do. Hence enlist them early in 
various co-operative efforts by which they can them- 
selves do good according to their age and capacity. 
Also impress them with the honor and privilege of 
becoming teachers in due time, and thus, by all legit- 
imate means, identify them for life with the agency 
by which so many of the purest joys have been 
mingled with their own earlier and advancing years. 



POWER OF THE PRESS. 2t7Z 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE PASTOR AND HIS SYSTEM OF BOOK, PERIOD- 
ICAL, AND TRACT CIRCULATION. 

NO pastor, who considers the great power of the 
press, should be indifferent to the possibiUty of 
enlisting its influence in aid of the various branches 
of his work, while also employing due caution to guard 
against the evils liable to arise from the same source. 

Some pastors, through narrow views of their privi- 
leges and obligations, in reference to this subject, fall 
into two serious errors : i. That of suffering their re- 
ligious influence to be thwarted by publications of 
an exceptionable character ; 2. That of neglecting to 
strengthen and enlarge the effect of their teachings 
by taking measures to promote the right kind of read- 
ing among their people. 

While, on the one hand, it is obvious that pastors 
should not attempt any arbitrary control over the 
reading of those to whom they have access ; on the 
other, it is equally obvious that, as a moral duty, they 
should feel bound to warn their people against the 
evils of bad and indiscriminate reading as much as 
against any other influences by which their morals 
might be corrupted, their principles undermined, or 
their lives made wretched. 

As it is the duty of Christians to use the full force 



374 ^^^ PASTOR A WATCHMAN. 

of moral suasion to guard their fellow-beings from 
intemperance and other vices, so it is none the less 
their duty to employ the same influence to counteract 
or render nugatory the views of secularism and infi- 
delity which are so insidiously infused into the popular 
reading of the day. Who is responsible in this matter 
if a Christian pastor is not ? Is he set as a watchman 
upon the walls of Jerusalem, and unable to discern 
the danger of bad reading — a cause by which thou- 
sands in this age are enfeebled in mind, vitiated in 
purpose, and ultimately led captive by the devil at his 
own will ? " If the watchman see the sword come, 
and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not 
warned ; if the sword come, and take any person from 
among them, he is taken away in his iniquity ; but his 
blood will I require at the watchman's hand." Ezek. 
xxxiii, 6. Indeed, the pastor, on the peril of his soul, 
is bound to give intelligent and faithful warning to his 
hearers of the danger lurking in many insidious and 
fascinating forms of literary composition. If, at the 
same time, he can convince them of the essential 
value of truth, and the great importance of expanding 
and fortifying their minds with the instructive lessons 
wrought out for their advantage by able writers, his 
work will be all the better done. While no Christian 
congregation would object to faithful warnings on this 
subject, neither would it be deemed out of place for 
a pastor, at an appropriate time, to exhort the heads 
of Christian families to guard their households by 
putting and keeping away whatever might be of evil 
or doubtful tendency in regard to truth or morals. 
Corresponding to this negative action, for lack of 



HOME LIBRARIES. 



375 



which many Christian homes are polluted worse than 
if pervaded with the frogs of Egypt, well-meaning 
people should be persuaded of the importance of good 
and ample family libraries. Here is a matter greatly 
overlooked ; and, because it is overlooked, the minds 
of thousands of young persons are either left idle or 
filled with desires for foolish and hurtful amusements, 
and thus laid open to the wiles of the devil. 

If the Christian pastors of America would lift up 
their voices on this subject, so as to persuade their 
hearers who have homes to supply them bountifully 
with a wholesome scientific and Christian literature, 
what an advance would be gained toward the estab- 
lishment of truth and virtue in the land ! Parental 
obligation can not be too clearly defined in reference 
to the books which children are allowed to read, and 
if parental example is only right and active in refer- 
ence to this matter, there will be comparatively little 
difficulty in forming the habits of children after the 
right model. Happily we live at a period when a 
whol^ome Christian literature is in abundant supply, 
and within the means of most persons who may desire 
to possess it. Best of all, the Church has not been 
indifferent to its obligations in this regard, but has 
furnished from its official press hundreds of volumes 
well adapted to the promotion of religious knowledge, 
of devotional improvement, and of mental and moral 
elevation. The great lack is an inadequate difflision 
of these volumes in the families of the members and 
friends of the Church. Formerly, our people were 
proportionately much better supplied with religious 
literature than at present, and the reason was, that, 



376 CHRISTIAN LITERATURE, 

although good books were fewer and dearer, ministers 
then made it a part of their business to keep the peo- 
ple supplied with them. The example and precepts 
of Mr. Wesley in this regard were above all praise. 
He was in advance of the age of cheap publications 
and of societies organized for the printing and diffusion 
of evangelical truth, but he anticipated most of their 
measures by printing good books on his own account, 
and encouraging his helpers to disseminate them. 
His followers in America followed his example in 
that respect. Hence the origin of the efficient and 
growing book agencies of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. But within recent years a change has grad- 
ually taken place in the habits of ministers, which 
needs now to be guarded, lest it permanently result 
in a reaction unfriendly to the best interests of the 
Church and of the cause of God. Receiving an im- 
proved support, pastors have become unwilling to sell 
books for profit, and having other numerous and 
weighty duties they have, to a large extent, ceased to 
make any efforts to supply their people with reMgious 
reading, in the form of books. At the same time the 
canvass for miscellaneous books, many of them of a 
doubtful, and even worse than doubtful, character, has 
become active and all-pervading. The consequence 
is, that the homes of thousands of our Church mem- 
bers are supplied with trashy and sensational books, 
while the solid and valuable volumes published by 
our Book Concerns and various other religious pub- 
lishers are within those homes unseen and unknown. 
If this state of things is to go on unremedied, who 
can tell what loss the Church will suffer! Happily, 



REMEDY FOR A GREAT EVIL. 2>77 

there is a remedy, and that remedy is found in direct 
conjunction with the various obhgations and motives 
of pastoral duty. Nor. is it difficult of attainment. 
Jf the pastor has not time to attend personally to the 
circulation and supply of religious books, as will most 
generally be the case, he can find two ways of accom- 
plishing that result without interfering with his time 
or curtailing his attention to other duties. The first 
is by a committee, as in the case of any other Church 
work, and the second is by commissioning some wor- 
thy but needy person who will make the proper can- 
vass and secure a reasonable compensation for so doing. 
As there are very few Churches in which there are 
not persons who would deem it a great favor to be en- 
couraged in such a work, let the second mode be con- 
sidered with reference to actual practice. Let it be 
presumed that the agent, or colporteur, has neither 
means nor pecuniary credit to invest in a stock of 
books in advance, but will take the trouble to secure 
orders. The pastor may, without cost, secure for his 
or her use a sufficient number of priced 
and descriptive catalogues, and may, by 
kind words to the public congregation, open up the 
way of the agent for a successful canvass, showing 
that a liberal purchase of good books will be both a 
charity to the individual about to call on them and a 
duty to themselves. Such a course of proceeding as 
this, or something equivalent to it which ought to be 
repeated every year, if not oftener, is at once so easy 
and so unobjectionable that it seems difficult to con- 
ceive how a well-meaning pastor can reconcile his 
conscience and leave it untried. 

32 



378 PERIODICALS. 

" To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, 
to him it is sin," and to neglect the instruction of a 
Christian congregation in matters pertaining to their 
intellectual life and the proper aliment for their men- 
tal and moral natures, is an omission of pastoral duty 
which ought not to be hazarded. Nevertheless, it 
would be well for young and new pastors, before 
preaching upon the subject of reading, or instituting 
measures for the circulation of books, to ascertain 
what has been said and done by their predecessors, so 
as to be able to adapt their words and efforts to the 
actual condition of things, and avoid any liability to 
mistakes. 

The remarks above made apply to periodicals -as | 
well as books, and perhaps with still greater force, i 
Every Christian family should receive regularly a 
good religious newspaper, and, if possible, one or more 
magazines of a Christian character, adapted to the 
special wants and tastes of different members of the 
household. When a Church provides officially and 
suitably for this necessity of its members, it is a nat- 
ural and reciprocal duty of Church members to pat- 
ronize the periodicals of the Church, and thereby put 
themselves in sympathetic connection with the whole 
body of which they form a part. The m.utual advan- 
tages of such an arrangement will be felt in every 
department of Church enterprise, and will greatly 
facilitate pastoral success in countless ways. For in- 
stance, if the families of a Church have generally read 
up the current missionary intelligence of any given 
year, the task of the pastor in preaching his annual 
missionary sermon is essentially modified and his labor 



PASTORAL HELPS. 379 

lessened in comparison with what would be necessary 
when such reading had not taken place. Again, a 
Church whose members have been cheered by reading 
revival intelligence from kindred Churches in various 
parts of the land, has its faith encouraged and its 
hopes quickened for active and successful " efforts at 
home. So in respect to any Church interest or branch 
of labor, the mind is expanded and the heart refreshed 
by reliable agencies of communication with y^^^^^ of reiig- 
fellow-Christians in different parts of the ^o^^p^p^"-^- 
country, and of the world. How narrow, on the other 
hand, must be the mental sphere of those who have 
no such means of communication with their fellow- 
Christians, and how little capable of entering into 
the just and proper sympathies of the Church to 
which they belong are those whose periodical reading 
belongs to some outside sphere, from which they 
are liable to receive prejudices and counter-influences 
that may, ere they are aware, do them great harm ! 
From these and many kindred considerations pastors 
may infer how important it is for them to use their 
best influence to secure the most extensive circulation 
of their own Church periodicals as helps in their indi- 
vidual work and as means of good to their people. 

Corroborative of these views is the following decla- 
ration of a pastor in the West, recently published: 

" In a ministry of fifteen years I have become tborouglily 
convinced by painful experience that nearly all of our troubles 
from disaffected ones -come, from those who do not take our 
religious papers. I have found by actual experience that proba- 
tioners in families where our Church papers are taken are the 
most apt to become permanent members, and that children of 
parents who read our periodicals are the most easily brought 



380 CHRISTIAN TRACTS. 

into the Church. I here record the fact tliat a minister has no 
more efficient helpers in every department of his work than our 
regular weekly Advocates." 

Ill addition to the good that may be done by in- 
ducing the famiUes of Churches and congregations to 
supply themselves with religious books and period- 
icals, is the great enterprise of tract and volume 
CIRCULATION as an agency of evangelization. Ex- 
periments extending through the greater part of a 
century have proved this to be a means of inestima- 
ble value for reaching various classes of persons who 
do not attend upon public worship, and who, but for 
the printed page, might be inaccessible to religious 
truth. The reference already^ m^ade to Mr. Wesley 
as having provided for the circulation of religious 
books, has equal pertinence in reference to the writ- 
ing and publication of religious tracts, in which he 
successfully" led the way some years before the ori- 
gin of that excellent institution, the Religious Tract 
Society^ of Great Britain. Following his example, 
the iMethodists of England and America have done 
much, but never enough, in the enterprise now under 
consideration. They have also gladly witnessed the 
zeal of other bodies of Christians in printing and 
circulating religious truth in popular forms for the 
awakening of the careless and the instruction of 
the ignorant. The records of the tract enterprise, as 
a whole, are full of intense interest, illustrating in 
every imaginable sphere of effort the possibility of 
reaching the lowest and rousing the most debased of 
human kind to seek the salvation of their souls and 
to commence the service of God. 



RECIPROCAL ADVANTAGES. 381 

But religious tracts, however intrinsically excellent, 
are, like the word of God, dependent upon human 
agency for their circulation. This dependency, how- 
ever, develops one of the great duties and privileges 
of Christians in the necessity of effort to bring the 
contents of the printed page to the attention of those 
who need to read and understand them. Thus it is 
that the offices of tract-distributers, loan-agents, col- 
porteurs, and Bible-readers have been developed as a 
necessity of the modern Church. Thus, also, the 
fact has often been demonstrated that they who bless 
others by these instrumentalities usually secure as 
great if not greater blessings themselves from their 
self-denying efforts. 

So thoroughly is the system of tract circulation 
approved by the Methodist Episcopal Church that 
every one of its pastors is required, by disciplinary 
rules, to form a Tract Society in his charge, to raise 
funds to procure and distribute tracts, and thereby 
encourage tract publication ; to co-operate with the 
general tract agency of the Church by taking and 
reporting tract collections ; and also to have a Tract 
Committee as advisers and coadjutors in this depart- 
ment of evangelical effort. It is, however, extremely 
desirable that pastors not only discharge these duties 
because required to do so, but from an intelligent 
appreciation of the advantages that may be expected 
to result from them, both in their regular pastoral 
work and in various forms of home missionary effort. 
Hence, they would do well to study carefully the 
whole subject as it is presented, both in a theoretical 
and practical point of view, in the Manual and 



382 USES OF TRA CTS. 

Other official publications of the Tract Society of the 
Church. Indeed, every pastor ought not only to be 
famiUar with these documents, but to keep them on 
hand, together with a full catalogue of tract publica- 
The pastor's tious, ready for convenient reference. By 
arsenal. their aid, he may determine what mate- 

rial is available for any special use, and secure, by 
mail or otherwise, any number of copies of such 
particular tracts as may be wanted. Should experi- 
ence at any time indicate the want of a tract not 
already provided, the pastor will do well to write one, 
in view of his actual wants, and it may prove not 
only useful to him but to thousands of others. The 
best tracts have originated in actual necessities or on 
the suggestion of circumstances, and no mortal can 
foresee the good that may result from a tract writ- 
ten under a true inspiration and with a single aim 
to glorify God. 

While no pastor should be content until sys- 
tematic and efficient tract and volume circulation 
is organized in his field of labor, neither should he 
omit any opportunity to encourage, both by precept 
and example, various other modes of tract distribu- 
tion, which have often been greatly blessed as agen- 
cies of good. Of these, the following may be in-! 
stanced : 

1. The inclosure of Christian leaflets in letters. 

2. The distribution of religious reading matter on 
public thoroughfares and while traveling, 

3. The sending out of tracts and Christian papers 
through various channels of commerce, as in pack- 
ages of merchandise, or, what is better, by personal 



RESULTS OF SYSTEM. 383 

gift to friends and strangers. This principle and its 
application are illustrated by the following, among 
many similar statements : 

"A gentleman who was ticket-agent at an important railroad 
station for five years, spent annually fifty dollars in the purchase 
of tracts for distribution. He made it a rule to give a tract with 
each ticket sold. He afterward received letters from twenty-two 
persons who had received tracts from him, stating that they had 
been the means of their conversion." 

In looking at the enterprise of tract circulation as 
herewith presented, let no one be discouraged in ad- 
vance at its apparent magnitude. System will sim- 
plify its details and render all its workings easy, 
while its encouragements will cheer the hearts of 
all engaged in the tasks it imposes, and nerve them 
to increasing effort. The Sunday-school scholar, for 
instance, who is educated to religious activity in 
tract distribution, is put in a direct course of train- 
ing for active missionary work in mature life, and as 
the result of his early and later labors hundreds may 
be raised up to take his place when he goes to his 
reward. 



384 . OBJECTS OF CHRISTIANITY, 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE PASTOR AND HIS LAY HELPERS. 

^ I ^HE Church of Christ was not instituted for the 
X enactment of ceremonies, but for the accompUsh- 
ment of results. The results at which it aimed in the 
beginning, and was ever designed to aim, were two- 
fold — internal and external. Of the former the per- 
sonal salvation of its members, including their in- 
struction in the truth and their experience of its 
power, must be named as first and most comprehen- 
sive. Toward this object, the privileges of worship j 
and the duty of maintaining the sacred ordinances, 
together with mutual watch-care and fellowship, point 
continually. But even these internal benefits were 
designed to have an external bearing, and to pre- 
pare the Church as a whole and its micmbers as 
individuals to work for the salvation of the world. 
Internally, the Church needs to be pure and zealous, 
in order that externally it may be aggressive. The 
fire of divine truth and grace needs to burn brightly 
on the altars of the sanctuary in order that a pure 
flame may be thence diffused to illuminate a dark 
world. The prophet Isaiah, anticipating the true 
spirit of the kingdom of the Prince of Peace, whose 
advent and character he so clearly foretold, said, " For 



GOOD WORKS DEMANDED. 385 

Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness 
thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation 
thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles 
shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory." 
Isaiah Ixii, i, 2. 

The Savior embodied these prophetic longings in 
the great commission which through the apostles di- 
rected the Church to "go," "preach," and "teach," and 
thus diffuse light and life throughout the regions of 
maral darkness and death. Of this work Christ, 
as the Head and Founder of the Church, was him- 
self a living example. The apostolic Church followed 
in his footsteps. Witness the Pentecostal revival, and 
when that was checked by persecution, mark how 
Ahe disciples " that were scattered abroad went every- 
where preaching the word." The whole record of the 
preaching and pastoral counsel of the apostles indi- 
cates that they sought to found and train up work- 
ing Churches. The divine addresses to the seven 
Churches of Asia Minor show that " He that holdeth 
the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the 
midst of the seven golden candlesticks," has an intent 
regard upon the works of His Churches. " Unto the 
angel of the Church of Ephesus write, I know thy 
works and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou 
canst not bear them which are evil ; and thou hast 
tried them which say they are apostles, and are not ; 
and hast found them liars : and hast borne, and hast 
patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and 
hast not fainted. And to the angel of the Church in 
Pergamos write : These things saith he which hath the 



l-h 



386 ORGANIZATION NEEDED. 

sharp sword with two edges ; I know thy works, and 
where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is : and 
thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my 
faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faith- 
ful martyr and was slain among you. And unto the 
angel of the Church in Thyatira write ; These things 
saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a 
flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass ; I know 
thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy 
patience, and thy works ; and the last to be more than 
the first." Rev. ii, 2, 3; ii, 12, 13; ii, 18, 19. 

While the solemn charges thus given indicate that 
even good works may be corrupted, and at their best 
estate are not meritorious for salvation, yet they make 
it manifest that every Christian Church is expected 
to work for God and in behalf of mankind, and also' 
that the angel or minister of each Church is in a high 
degree responsible for its character and usefulness. 

Whether, therefore, we consider the internal or ex- 
ternal objects of Church work, not merely anxious de- 
sires, but earnest activity, individual and collective, 
must be considered the rule of its life and duty. But 
work on any extensive scale requires organization and 
direction, and thus it is that the Christian Church 
needs to be an organized body in which there shall 
be a suitable allotment of tasks and a recognized di- 
rection. The work of God on earth being committed 
to his Church, the organization of every branch of the 
Church and of every individual Church connected with 
every branch, should be made with reference to Chris- 
tian activity and usefulness in the various forms which 
are possible. In this way the greatest amount of 



A PASTOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES. 387 

individual responsibility may be harmonized with the 
largest advantage of union. As in union there is 
strength, so the more perfectly the members of any 
Church are united in heart and action the greater will 
be their success in doing the work of the Lord. 

In the light of these principles every pastor should 
understand both the importance and the mode of 
organizing Christian effort in all those forms which 
promise either to improve the piety or the usefulness 
of his membership. The Sunday-school and tract 
enterprises, as already referred to, are examples, but 
only examples of what may be done in this matter. 

It falls within the scope of this chapter to consider 
practically, though briefly, several forms of Church 
activity, both regular and occasional, which need to 
be well understood by any one to whom is committed 
a pastoral charge. While it is impossible for a pastor 
to conceive too highly of his responsibilities, he could 
hardly make a greater mistake than to imagine that 
all the responsibility for Church work rests on himself 
alone. If a general were to do all the fighting, what 
need would he have of an army.? So in the Church, 
" if they were all one member, where were the body .? 
But now are they many members yet but one body." 
Thus the apostle teaches that while Christians col- 
lectively form the one body called the Church, yet 
God hath appointed his ministers, apostles, prophets, 
and teachers to maintain the office of government and 
guidance for the Church, as the head does for the 
body. Here, then, is a peculiar responsibility of the 
pastor, which is far more important for him to fulfill 
than to exhaust himself in doing work which others 



388 DEPARTMENTS OF AID. 

can do quite as advantageously for the cause of Christ 
and much more advantageously for themselves. Ex- 
ercise is a law of spiritual as well as of physical 
health. It would consequently be as great an injury 
to Christians to refuse to them an opportunity of ex- 
ercising themselves unto godliness as to deny them 
spiritual food. 

Not only, therefore, must pastors avoid repressing 
the zeal and activity of Christians of every grade of 
experience, but they must seek to give suitable em- 
ployment to each one in his proper sphere. This can 
never be done effectively without system. Aware of 
this, the Church has adopted and prescribed to her 
pastors a general system of procedure which, as the 
result of accumulated experiences, is far better than, 
could be expected to result from the separate action 
of thousands of individuals. 

The system of our Church in respect to the co- 
operation of lay talent covers the three great depart- 
ments of I. Finance. II. Pastoral aid. III. Evan- 
gelization. 

In reference to finance, it requires the appointment 
of stewards, who are charged with providing for pas- 
toral support and the care of the poor ; trustees, who 
hold the real estate of the Church, both church edi- 
fices and parsonages ; and also committees to aid in 
making collections, as for missions, tracts, and Sun- 
day-schools. For pastoral aid class-leaders are ap- 
pointed in every Church — persons of maturity in 
religious experience, under whose assisting watch- 
care the whole membership is subdivided for weekly 
meetings, visits, and religious counsel. For aggress- 



FINANCE. 389 

ive local evangelism, exhorters and local preachers 
are officially licensed, and preach under the direction 
of the preacher in charge. This system has had a 
hundred years of effective and satisfactory trial in 
America, and notwithstanding much recent investi- 
gation of the subject involved, and an extensive com- 
parison of views among Christians of different de- 
nominations, both in private interviews and in public 
conventions, it does not seem likely to be superseded 
or greatly improved upon by any new invention of the 
present period. Nevertheless this system should not 
be narrowly construed or exclusively worked. Our 
ministers have always been free to experiment in what- 
ever promised well as a means of "doing good, and as a 
result many peculiar applications and extensions of 
the system have been found practicable in peculiar 
circumstances. 

Of the more important of these some account will 
now be given, designed to serve as suggestions, not 
for any substitution of our well-established system, but 
for the more effective working and more extensive 
application of it by means of such additions and minor 
variations as are found adapted to our growing num- 
bers and the somewhat changed and changing aspects 
of society. 

I. As to FINANCE, the great duty of a pastor is to 
give to his people full and explicit instruction in the 
principles of Christian philanthropy and systematic 
beneficence, illustrated by a proper example on his 
own p3.rt. This kind of instruction should not be 
limited to occasions demanding pecuniary offerings, 
but should be so interfused with the religious ali- 



390 



DUTY OF GIVING, 



ment of the Church that opportunities to give will be 
regarded as privileges greatly to be prized. In short, 
Christians, instead of being occasionally pressed and 
stimulated to large religious contributions, should be 
made to feel that doing good and communicating is 
the great business of their life, that they are not 
their own, that whatever they possess they hold as 
stewards of the divine bounty, subject to the draft of 
his providence and the necessities of his kingdom on 
earth. To make money, to save money, and to give 
money for such objects, should be placed before every 
Christian as an important and indispensable form of 
Christian work. To this childhood should be trained, 
in it youth should be enlisted, and of it adult Chris- 
tians should never be allowed to lose sight. If with 
such instructions there be coupled a feasible and 
comprehensive system of Church finance, not only 
will the ministry be well supported, but every branch 
of Christian enterprise amply sustained. On this 
plan the entire Church and congregation should be 
claimed as voluntary helpers in every good work, 
Objects of lib- whether it be the maintenance of public 
erahty. worship in a community, the erection of 

Christian temples, the support of Sunday-schools, the 
provision of Christian tracts and books, the succor of 
the poor, the promotion of Christian education, or the 
evangelization of pagans. 

Perfect as Christianity is in theory, its most posi- 
tive influence is found in the practice of those good 
works by which its principles are demonstrated to 
be superior to every other philosophy, and the grand 
antagonism of the debasing selfishness of the world. 



PLEDGES OF CHRISTIAN WORK. 391 

It was on this wise that Christ demonstrated his 
Messiahship. See Matt, xi, 2-6. Although the days 
of miracles are past, yet the mission of Christianity 
is still the same, and every one who experiences its 
grace in his heart should be taught the indispensable 
duty of exemplifying its fruits in his daily life. As 
money is the universal medium of exchange, so it is 
an agency of every species of Christian usefulness, 
and as the wealth of a nation is promoted by the 
industry and economy of its inhabitants, so the 
aggregate power of the Church is augmented by the 
personal thriftiness, liberality, and activity of each 
one of its members. Nor are such obligations left to 
the separate inference of individual members of the 
Church. 

The following was recently published as though it 
embodied a new discovery, something that but one 
minister had actually thought of so as to embody it 
in his system of pastoral administration : 

"There is a minister in one of the New England cities who 
■will not admit a member to his Church but under the pledge 
that he or she will work for Christ." 

Happily the principle that all should be workers for 
Christ and the Church, so far from being new or ex- 
traordinary, was embodied in the General Rules of 
the Methodist societies at their very origin. Among 
other items of equal significance, the following pledge 
has been taken by all who have been admitted to 
those societies since the year 1739, viz.: 

"That they should continue to evidence their desire of salva- 
tion. ... By doing good ; by being in every kind merciful 
after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every 



392 



INDIVIDUAL ENDEAVORS. 



possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men. To their bod- 
ies, of the ability which God giveth, by giving food to the hun- 
gry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are 
sick or in prison. To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or 
exhorting all we have any intercourse with ; tramphng under 
foot that enthusiastic doctrine, that ' we are not to do good 
unless our heai'ts be free to it.'' " 

The same idea is reiterated in the following ques- 
tions and answers now embodied in the form for 
receiving members into full connection: 

" Will you cheerfully be governed by the rules of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, hold sacred the ordinances of God, and 
endeavor, as much as in you lies, to promote the welfare of your 
brethren and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom ? 

''Alls. I will. 

" Will you contribute of your earthly substance, according to 
your ability, to the support of the Gospel, and the various be- 
nevolent enterprises of the Church ? 

''A71S. I will." 

To what extent pastors generally have compre- 
hended the full bearing of these pledges of individual 
work and co-operation in the Church, and their own 
corresponding responsibility to supply work to all 
their members according to their capacity and cir- 
cumstances, is a matter deserving serious thought. 
But, whether or not our work has been fully done in 
the past, it is of unspeakable importance that here- 
after it be made to tell with all possible effect upon 
the interests of Christ's kingdom by the full and wise 
employment of both individual and collective power. 
Here, then, is a question demanding the anxious con- 
sideration of every actual and intending pastor : How 
can I best utilize individual effort for the extension 
of the Redeemer's kingdom.'* 



SKILLFUL EMPLOYMENT. 393 

A few suggestions may be given in partial answer 
to this question: 

1. The pastor should not only know his members 
individually, but accustom himself to form a judg- 
ment of each one's character and adaptation for use- 
fulness. 

2. He should personally, and by aid of his leaders, 
make sure that each one not only has something to 
do, but does something for the promotion of the com- 
mon cause. 

At this point, especially in the case of young Chris- 
tians, there is a golden mean to be sought between 
attempting nothing and attempting too much, or what 
is not within the individual's line of duty. " Every 
one in his own order" is the spirit of a divine rule. 
Hence, let the child Christian have a child's work to 
do, and not be urged to go beyond it. So in the case 
of youth and adults, male and female, there is a cer- 
tain fitness of religious occupation which may be con- 
sidered a providential arrangement, neither Personal adap- 
to be contravened nor neglected. Individ- ^^*'°"- 
uals of these several classes should moreover be in- 
structed to study their own adaptations, and the open- 
ings of Providence for their religious activities, whether 
in their families at home, or among their associates at 
school, or in business, and thus to exemplify the old 
Methodistic motto in reference to the work of the 
Lord, "All at it, and always at it." Were there noth- 
ing else to be done, the several agencies of Christian 
effort already discussed would afford suitable employ- 
ment for a host in any community. Indeed, the ne- 
cessities of these several enterprises often suggest 



394 CHRISTIAN WORK A MEANS OF GRACE. 

and enforce a degree of activity in personal effort 
which, with or without theory, goes far to accomplish 
the grand design of educating the Church for Chris- 
tian work. Thus children are encouraged to lead 
other children to the Sunday-school, to induce their 
parents to attend upon the means of grace, and to 
give of their means for missions, church building, and 
other good objects. In like manner tracts are distrib- 
uted, the poor visited, the naked clothed, the hungry 
fed, and the sick cared for. 

Now, all good pastors may be comforted in the 
assurance that any such act is a means of grace to 
the Christian performing it, whether young or old. 
Hence, even if it were in his power to monopolize 
these means of usefulness, it would be unjust to others 
that he should curtail their privilege of doing good. 
But in the ever-enlarging sphere of duty that opens 
before each faithful pastor, and the corresponding 
anxieties that burden his soul, how grateful is help — 
help both from man and God, but especially help 
from God through his fellow-men ! Beyond a doubt, 
many pastors have failed to accomplish much that 
they might have done from not knowing how to util- 
ize the help God designed them to employ, and which 
the Christian people of their Churches would have 
delighted to render, had they been suitably instructed 
and encouraged. Let it, then, be understood, that an 
essential element of pastoral success is a capacity to 
enlist workers for God, and to employ wisely all the 
strength and energy of all persons that can be enlisted 
in the various forms of Christian duty. Hence this 
great ministerial gift can not be too earnestly coveted. 



CHURCH CLASSES. 395 

11. Pastoral Aid. As already intimated, great 
assistance in a pastor's work may be expected from 
faithful and competent class-leaders. Once let the 
idea become general in the Church that the highest 
and purest enjoyment of religion comes through the 
faithful practice of the duties it enjoins, and a great 
step will have been taken toward render- 

^ . . ^ n 1 T . Class-leaders. 

mg Christians 01 all ages and conditions 
helpful workers in the interests of Christ's kingdom. 
If this idea pervades the soul of a pastor, and by him 
is communicated to his leaders, it may soon be dif- 
fused through the entire membership. Of itself it 
would go far toward breaking up any tendency toward 
mxonotony in experience, and also toward securing a 
more general attendance upon the class-meeting and 
other means of grace. 

Thus, if the class-leader, in his sub-pastoral capac- 
ity, is not able to visit all the absent or sick members 
of his class with sufficient frequency, let him call to his 
aid the members who do attend. In this way each 
class may become a miniature Church, and each leader 
be informed, through his members, of any sick, or 
strangers, or poor that need attention. Practical 
measures of this kind become an excellent remedy 
for religious indifference, and if generally carried into 
effect would go far to re-invest class-meetings with 
their original interest and power. An investigation 
into their decline from that, wherever it may have oc- 
curred, will show that religious experience deteriorates 
whenever it becomes in any degree selfish, seeking 
merely for enjoyment rather than for usefulness. 
Proper co-operation with class-leaders, as a means of 



396 THEIR DESIGN. 

enabling them to be more efficient co-workers in the 
vineyard of the Lord, is a subject that deserves the 
deepest concern of pastors. Unhappily, some over- 
look, or greatly misconceive, their proper duty in this 
regard. Failing in the patience necessary to ascer- 
tain and carefully remove the causes which may have 
hindered regular attendance at class-meeting, they 
have become censorious and denunciatory, and doubt- 
less, contrary to their wishes, have actually created 
prejudices against a cause they hoped to promote, at i 
the same time disheartening both leaders and mem- 
bers. A wise pastor, who may find class-meetings 
neglected in any charge to which he goes, will pause 
to consider, and if possible combine, the elements 
which are necessary to render them in any great de- 
gree an agency of spiritual good. For instance : 

I. There should be a general appreciation, on the 
part of both leaders and members, of the design of 
class-meetings as a help to self-examination, a means of 
social worship, of religious advice and instruction ; in 
short, a training school for heaven. At this point an 
important responsibility devolves on the pulpit. If 
ministers regard class-leaders as helpers in their pas- 
toral work, they should feel bound to create sentiment 
in behalf of class-meetings, and to impress upon mem- 
bers the importance of attendance, not only for their 
own sakes, but for the sake of the Church and its 
interests. Hence they should not once only, but fre- 
quently, show the public social and private ends to be 
accomplished by the regular and frequent meeting 
together of those who fear the Lord. They should 
portray the historic interest of this special means of 



i 



CLASS-LEADERS. 397 

grace, and justly set forth its moral and spiritual claims 
as a means of developing and confirming Christian 
character, and of keeping a Church in order for effect- 
ive Christian work. 

2. There should be, if possible, an ample provision 
of competent leaders. This is sometimes difficult 
for lack of the requisite talent including a deep relig- 
ious experience, and sometimes from a lack of inter- 
est in the work and of special preparation for it on 
the part of those who have sufficient talent. In such 
circumstances a pastor is called on to exercise great 
diligence of personal effort as well as skill in discern- 
ing capacity and enlisting talent. When new class- 
leaders are appointed, occasion should be taken to ex- 
plain to them the duties and responsibilities of the 
office, while they should also be requested to read 
carefully tract No. 275, on "the duties, qualifications, 
and encouragements of class-leaders," and tract No. 
"]%, on the " ways and means of rendering class-meet- 
ings more animating and instructive," together with 
larger works on class-meetings, if practicable.* 

The Church has suffered great loss from insufficient 
effort on the part of pastors to develop the talent 
existing in the Church for this important service. 
Leaders, whose modes were monotonous and other- 
wise defective, have been allowed or compelled to 
monopolize the office. The classes of popular lead- 
ers have also been allowed to become too large and 
the meetings necessarily too long, while the possi- 

* For interesting portraitures of good class-leaders, see the lives of 
Cravosso and Reeves ; also, a sketch in Caughey's " Methodism in 
Earnest," pp. 174-9. Has not the American Church produced equally 
instructive examples? Why are not their memoirs written? 



398 FEMALE LEADERS. 

bility of weekly interviews with all the members 
was rendered more difficult. Another evil has been 
the indiscriminate allotment of persons of both sexes 
and of all ages to the same overcrowded classes. 
Without dwelling upon the serious embarrassments 
that have arisen, especially from placing young fe- 
males in classes where it would be almost impossible 
for them to speak freely, or to receive the special ad- 
vices which they need, it may be confessed as a great 
error of American Methodism, not to have preserved 
the original system of Mr. Wesley of appointing fe- 
male class-leaders, and of dividing the sexes, as far as 
practicable, into separate classes. No word has ever 
been admitted into our Discipline against it, but yet 
an opposite custom has become so general that many 
ministers seem never to have considered either the 
possibihty or the advantages of resuming that feature 
of the class-meeting system which has always been 
retained and highly prized in England. This is a 
subject, however, which every pastor ought to con- 
sider calmly and practically. 

In most Churches, half or more of the members are 
females, and persons as intelligent and pious as those 
of the other sex in similar circumstances of life. Now 
it will be obvious that an arrangement to cultivate 
and employ an equal proportion of female talent for 
the leading and instruction of religious classes would 
at once relieve the necessity of overgrown classes, 
and of appointing incompetent or uninteresting lead- 
ers of either sex. 

Whatever doubts may exist as to other public en- 
gagements of women vanish here, since the class- 



PECULIAR ADAPTATION. 399 

meeting is at most only a social means of grace, while 
teaching in a religious class is analogous to other 
forms of teaching, for which the adaptation of women 
has never been questioned. While any improvement 
in the system of class-meetings will be favorably felt 
throughout the whole Church, the advantages to be 
expected from the appointment of female leaders have 
special reference to their own sex. Some of them 
may be indicated as follows : Suppose an intelligent, 
experienced, and devoted Christian woman to be asso- 
ciated with a dozen of her younger sisters in Christ, 
as their leader, in the first place it is evident that 
she will perfectly understand and sympathize with the 
peculiarities of their character and their trials. Be- 
sides, she can better visit the members of her class 
than men, who are generally engaged in business, and 
she will have many opportunities of access to them 
which would not be open to the other sex. The mem- 
bers, too, will more freely seek her counsel and assist- 
ance when doubts or embarrassments cause them to 
feel the need of a friend in whom they can confide. 
She will thus become more intimately acquainted 
with their spiritual wants, and will know better how 
to adapt instruction to their several cases. It is also 
evident that in the class-meetings her members, 
even though young, will not experience the great 
timidity and restraint inseparable from opposite cir- 
cumstances. They will be able to speak freely of the 
real condition of their souls, their temptations and 
difficulties, their enjoyments and prospects. In this 
familiar circle, declension in spirituality may be de- 
tected, its causes ascertained, and the needful instruc- 



400 EXAMINATION OF LEADERS. 

tion imparted. Practical advice may also be given 
respecting many of the obligations of Christianity, 
which would not be introduced into mixed classes. 
In addition to exerting influences like these among 
adult persons of their own sex, female leaders qualified 
to conduct juvenile religious classes are more easy to 
be found than men who can fully enter into the sym- 
j^athies of very young Christians. 

Now, while no absolute rule should be given, it at 
least may be inculcated as the bounden duty of every 
pastor to select and enlist the very best talent in his 
Church for his direct help in the office of class-leader, 
also to reduce his classes to proper numbers, and to 
take great pains to make a suitable distribution of 
members in the several classes. When all this is done, 
discreet and conscientious attention should be given 
to that much-neglected rule of the Discipline, " to ex- 
amine each of them (the leaders) with all possible 
exactness, at least once a quarter, concerning his 
method of meeting a class." The spirit of this rule 
does not limit the pastor to private examination, but 
rather suggests a friendly conference with the leaders 
as a body, in which free mutual counsel may be given 
and taken, and the various modes and their results 
compared and discussed. Still, it may be well occa- 
sionally to converse w^ith the leaders separately in 
compliance w^ith that rule. What is of equal impor- 
tance is to meet with them in their several classes, as 
opportunity may be found, and thus not only observe 
the method of the leader and the spirit of his class, 
but to gain and impart personal profit from association 
with both. 



OBJECTS ATTAINABLE. 4OI 

In discharging the duties here referred to, pastors 
should carefully avoid a dictatorial manner. On the 
other hand, they should be anxious to learn, as they 
often may, valuable lessons from the faithful and ex- 
perienced leaders in their charges. Nevertheless, in 
the modest fulfillment of the duties of their office they 
should be fertile in suggestions for the promotion of 
variety, spirituality, and general interest of all the 
classes. All leaders should be advised to propose 
occasionally, at least, scriptural topics to their mem- 
bers for meditation during the week, and review in the 
light of experience at the following meeting. All 
should be encouraged to acquire great familiarity with 
the Scriptures, and also with evangelical, hymns, as 
sources of instruction, advice, and consolation. 

Throughout a pastor's whole connection with this 
division of sub-pastoral work, he should remember 
that the mere ceremony of class-meetings is of little 
importance compared with the possibility of making 
them an instrumentality of spiritual life and power in 
the Church. Every measure, therefore, should point 
to the latter as the grand and essential result. Other 
instrumentalities failing to secure a sufficient variety 
of exercises and a solid religious interest, let the class- 
meeting be made, temporarily at least, an occasion 
and an agency of scriptural study. Let special topics 
be appointed, scriptural passages collated and exam- 
ined, and special prayer offered for the illuminating 
and quickening influences of the Holy Spirit. By 
such means, with the divine blessing, it is believed 
that class-meetings may not only be restored to all 
their original interest, but rendered an increasing 

34 



402 DISCRIMINA TION NEEDED. 

power for good in the Church, while their leaders, 
whether male or female, will be among the most effi- 
cient coadjutors of faithful pastors. 

In this connection it is proper to inquire what 
other agencies may be employed to render effectual aid 
in the work of the Christian pastorate ? Before an- 
swering, it may be well to consider that character- 
istic differences exist between country and city life, 
and also between the condition of smaller and larger 
cities, and particularly between the younger cities of 
a new country and those established haunts of in- 
famy and misery which so largely prevail in the great 
and long-established cities of the world. Desperate 
necessities sometimes dictate desperate measures, and 
it need not be inferred that all measures which have 
been useful among the degraded population of some 
parts of London and New York are called for in 
communities of a different character. Yet human 
nature is the same in all places, and its tendencies 
to sin are generally so similar that measures which 
have anywhere proved successful in rescuing souls 
from vice and ruin are deserving of universal con- 
sideration. Thus the history of ragged schools in 
Great Britain and midnight missions in some of 
the larger cities of England and America are in- 
structive in reference to the principles involved, the 
self-denial practiced, and the successes achieved. But 
an attempt to create such institutions where they are 
not called for, or are only needed in a modified form, 
would betray indiscretion and result badly. A just 
discrimination, therefore, is needed in the application 
of even correct principles and wise measures. The 



CO- OPERA TION DESIRABLE. 403 

name ragged school, in America, would be an of- 
fense and a fatal stigma, and yet, under a well- 
selected name the very work of the ragged school 
system may be effectually done and the necessity of 
ragged schools prevented. The work of city missions 
and mission Sunday-schools is found, in Mission 
this country, to combine nearly every thing ^^^^o^^- 
that is most promising as means of doing good within 
regular Church operations, and the opinion is here 
freely stated that for Churches the fewest deviations 
from a regular system of Church work consistent 
with the full discharge of their duty are to be pre- 
ferred. Hence, if industrial schools, dispensaries for 
the sick, or other agencies of a general character, are 
called for, they may be best promoted by a union of 
efforts among Christians of various Churches. In a 
country where only the voluntary system is known, 
whether in Church support or in Christian duty, 
there is no propriety in any Church attempting to 
monopolize the means of religious influence, while 
there is great propriety in Christians of different 
Churches cultivatine; acquaintance and 

. Union efforts. 

mutual love, as well as enhancing mutual 
usefulness, by such forms of co-operative benevolence 
as are appropriate and feasible. 

But however diligent Christians may be in duties 
of a general character, there is none the less neces- 
sity of a systematic attention to the obligations of 
the Church which is more particularly their home, 
and it is the home relation and the co-operation due 
to their own pastors that we are now considering. 
When this subject is viewed from the position of a 



404 ^ TTENTION TO STRANGERS, 

Church member, it is not difficult to see that on the 
score of friendship as well as of allegiance to one's 
appointed spiritual guide, it is a duty, as it should 
be a pleasure, to render any co-operation that might 
be promotive of the interests of Christ's kingdom. 
When viewed from the position of a pastor, it is in- 
expressibly desirable to have the sympathy of loving 
hearts, the support of active friends, the aid of will- 
ing feet to run on errands of mercy, and diligent and 
skillful hands to work for God and humanity. 

Let it now be supposed that on the one part there 
Practical IS a ready mind and a hearty purpose of 

measures. co-opcratiou, aud ou the other a strong 

desire to employ all his own ability and that of the 
people of his charge for their religious improvement 
and the salvation of others. What may the pastor 
do to develop the full working power of his Church "i 

Answer: i. Let him see that the regular and 
tested system to which he and his people are sup- 
posed to be accustomed is in a thorough and effi- 
cient state of activity. 

2. As there may be occasion, let him appoint com- 
mittees to do any work of which there is special 
need. For instance, as in most American commu- 
nities the population changes frequently and new- 
comers are constantly arriving, let there be in each 
Church a strangers' committee, or a committee of 
vigilance, to ascertain and report the arrival of 
strangers, whether individuals or families. Mem- 
bers of this committee should also be expected to 
call on new-comers, to form their acquaintance, to 
invite them to Church, and to make them feel relig- 



it 



CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS, 405 

iously at home in the community, whatever Church 
they may decide to attend. While the visits of 
such a committee would not render unnecessary 
the visits of a pastor, they would, in the best man- 
ner, prepare the way for his calls, and hasten them 
if occasion required. In addition to calls on strangers, 
members of this committee, and, indeed, all members 
of the Church, should be attentive to new attend- 
ants on public worship, forming their acquaintance 
as promptly as practicable, and welcoming them as 
members of the community. 

The above is instanced as one of several kinds 
of committees which a pastor may, without any for- 
mality, appoint from time to time, and which would 
be expected to report directly to him. 

3. In some cases he may find it well to encour- 
age the organization of a Young People's Christian 
Association. Young Men's Christian Associations 
in the larger cities have, during some years past, 
occupied a prominent position among the various 
agencies of usefulness, having received the general 
support and encouragement of evangelical Churches. 
Some Churches in turn have profited by the exam- 
ple of those associations, and have organized within 
themselves more compact associations, embracing 
both sexes, and designed to act within the Church 
for the promotion of its own interests and objects. 
In Churches less compactly organized than ours, 
such an association can hardly fail to be of great 
utility, and there are many cases among our 
Churches in which the more important features 
of such an association may be harmonized with 



406 READING CIRCLES. 

our established system of effort to great and mutual 
advantage. 

4. Pastors should be on the alert to suggest to 
their people, especially the young people of their 
charges, appropriate means of rational entertain- 
ment. This is the most hopeful way of counter- 
acting the prevalent tendency to waste time and 
deteriorate character by attendance upon various 
kinds of amusements, as it tends to develop desires for 
personal improvement and to create a taste for no- 
bler things. With such objects in view, some pastors 
have found it highly advantageous to organize or 
promote the organization of a reading circle on a 
plan embracing various forms of literary exercises in- 
terspersed with singing and profitable conversation. 

5. Private prayer unions. The great privilege of 
united prayer is not limited to personal presence. 
Union of heart is as visible to God as an actual as- 
sembly to a mortal eye. Besides, there is a promise 
of the Savior that seems specially adapted to promote 
heart union. "I say unto you, That if two of you 
shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they 
shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father 
which is in heaven." Matt, xviii, 19. In this idea it 1 
has been more or less customary for persons to cove- 
nant together in reference to special times and ob- 
jects of prayer. Prudent suggestions from a pastor 
may often be the means of securing most desirable 
results through the instrumentality of united private 
prayer. 

6. In many, perhaps all cases it may be well to 
organize a Ladies and Pastors' Christian Union, or a 1 



wo MAN'S WOJiK IN THE CHURCH. 407 

Ladies' Pastoral Aid Society, as a special means of 
developing the talent and agency of Christian women 
as workers for Christ. In villages and country places 
there may seem to be less need of systematic effort 
of this kind, and yet how much may anywhere be 
accomplished by it can only be known after thorough 
trial. The desideratum in every place is to do all that 
can be done for the cause of Christ, and to leave no 
class or grade of consecrated talent unemployed in the 
great work of extending the Redeemer's kingdom. 

The fact that women can be and ought to be effi- 
cient co-operators in nearly every form of Christian 
duty, has never been questioned in Methodist Churches 
any more than it was in the apostolic Churches. 
Hence, at a period when there seems to be a gen- 
eral agitation as to the rights and proper sphere of 
the gentler sex, it is desirable that our Church should 
equally vindicate its zeal and its prudence in a matter 
of so much importance, both to the cause of Christ 
and to women themselves. This, it is believed, may 
be done, in the most effectual manner, by giving them 
encouragement and support in all appropriate duties, 
and at the same time guarding them against the ultra 
measures and reckless schemes by which some pre- 
tended reformers would thrust them into false posi- 
tions, and put in jeopardy the moral elevation and the 
most sacred privileges to which Christianity has ele- 
vated them. Whatever other questions may be in 
doubt, we may be confident that, as helpers to judi- 
cious pastors in the various measures of true Chris- 
tian benevolence and duty, women may at once honor 
themselves and bless humanity. In this sphere, with- 



408 LAY PREACHING. 

out loss or risk, they may win souls and secure a 
crown of glory. 

III. In HOME EVANGELIZATION, the third great 
agency of Church effort, Methodism has been schooled 
from its origin. Adopting Wesley's motto, " The 
world is my parish," and recognizing no limitations 
of any kind that should restrain their usefulness, 
Methodist Churches have every-where felt it in- 
cumbent on them to stretch out their lines of influ- 
ence in all possible directions. While the system of 
itinerancy has developed an extraordinary power of 
expansion, reaching forth to destitute regions, and 
offering the gospel to those who needed it, without 
waiting for invitations, yet it could not have accom- 
plished its full work without the grand auxiliary of 
lay preaching. The providential manner in which 
this agency for the spread of true religion was forced 
upon the attention of Wesley is a familiar fact in the 
history of Methodism ;* and the faithfulness with 
which it has been employed ever since in no small 
degree accounts for the wide extension and the mul- 
tiplying fruits of the great revival, of which that very 
movement was one of the first-fruits. Not only was 
lay preaching recognized among Methodists as a legit- 
imate branch of Christian eflbrt, but it has been prac- 
ticed as an important part of our system of Church 
operations. This has had the double effect of encour- 
aging all, who felt moved to call sinners to repent- 
ance, to act under the auspices of the Church, and of 
enabling the Church to direct and utilize their efforts. 
In the former aspect it has added vastly to the variety 

*See Stevens's History of Methodism, Vol. I, pp. 173, 174. 



DOUBLE OBJECT. 4O9 

and aggregate of the talent that God has been pleased 
to employ for the promotion of his own glory ; and, in 
the latter, it has not only prevented much that would 
have been erratic, if not injurious, but been able to 
make permanent many good results that would other- 
wise have been transient and of little ultimate ad- 
vantage to Christianity. It is deserving of further 
remark, that the Methodist system of lay preaching 
has a double object with reference to the preachers 
themselves. The first is probationary, designed to 
test the validity of an individual's impressions of duty, 
and to enable the Church to judge of his fitness for 
the sacred office. In this light it is the only door of 
access to the itinerancy and the pastorate. The ad- 
vantages of such a beginning are not limited to indi- 
vidual discipline and development. The Church, by 
the same means, often secures its own enlargement 
through years of zealous service, that without such a 
system would be -lost. But aside from its probation- 
ary aspect pointing toward the regular ministry, our 
system of lay preaching employs many whose age and 
circumstances require them to be connected with sec- 
iilar business, and who can only redeem their Sab- 
baths and other limited portions of time for public 
^-fforts in behalf of their fellow-men. Such persons 
constitute the majority of our lay or local preachers, 
and their number is augmented by those ministers 
who, from various causes, retire from the regular 
work, and resume the functions of occasional preach- 
ing as health and circumstances may admit. Now, 
while it is by no means conceded that Christian lay- 
men are not to exert themselves to do good to the 

35 



410 OPEN-AIR PREACHING. 

extent of their ability, whether formally licensed by 
the Church or not, yet it is claimed that where home 
evangelization is a recognized object of Chm'ch effort, 
it is better that those who engage actively in it should 
be officially responsible to the Church, and directly 
associated with the pastorate as its helpers in word 
and doctrine. So they are, and for generations have 
been, in the economy of our Church. The preacher 
in charge is authorized to license "such persons as 
he may judge proper to officiate as exhorters in the 
Church," according to certain provisions of the Dis- 
cipline. He is also required, whenever it is practi- 
cable, so to " arrange the appointments as to give the 
local preachers regular and systematic employment on 
the Sabbath." A similar duty is enjoined on presid- 
ing elders in connection with preachers in charge. 
Sometimes this is done by a printed plan issued each 
quarter and sometimes less formally. 

When pastors encourage their helpers of this class 
to go out into the highways and hedges to urge the 
Gospel invitation, they should arrange to receive re- 
ports of what they have done and of the encourage- 
ments and obstacles with which they have met. They 
may thus see occasion to strengthen some movements 
or to modify others, and to know when and where their 
own direct co-operation may be most important. 

Open-air preaching has been successfully practiced 
by many lay preachers, and the recent revival of this 
kind of work for the masses of great cities and for 
rude assemblies on the frontier is only a return to a 
favorite measure of early Methodism, which, under 
proper management, will be generally useful. 



MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT. 4II 

It can not be denied that with the great changes 
that have occurred in the circumstances of our 
Churches as they have progressed from initial weak- 
ness to comparative and absohite strength, there has 
been a tendency to overlook and underrate the im- 
portance of our system of lay preaching, which ought 
to be checked, and which, it is hoped, may receive a 
favorable counteraction from the general awakening 
of other denominations to this very class of labors. 

Let it be understood, then, that the pastors of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church ought to take a deep 
personal interest in their exhorters and local preach- 
ers. This interest should be manifested by inquiries 
into their religious experience and modes of effort, by 
giving them advice suited to their several circum- 
stances, and by encouraging them to pursue appro- 
priate courses of study as regularly and thoroughly 
as possible. Those who have gifts promising useful- 
ness in the regular ministry should be advised as to 
the steps they ought to take toward procuring a thor- 
ough education, while those who are more adapted 
to other spheres of life should be referred to proper 
courses of reading, and aided in making the best pos- 
sible improvement of their talents. 

An encouraging omen with reference to the con- 
tinued and increasing usefulness of this class of Chris- 
tian laborers is found in the recent conventions held 
by local preachers for mutual conference and improve- 
ment. The discussions and resolutions of those bodies 
can hardly fail of good results to those who attend ; 
but as that number is very small compared with the 
many who can not attend, it is the more important 



412 THE TRUE POLICY. 

that every effort should be made through pastoral 
agency to elevate the standard of qualification and to 
stimulate a zealous and wholesome activity among all 
who are admitted to that important office. Much 
discussion has taken place at the recent Christian 
conventions respecting the subject of lay preaching, 
open-air preaching, etc., but it has elicited little that 
is new or important to be noted in this connection. 

What WE need is to keep up the spirit and zeal of 
our spiritual forefathers in this department of effort, 
accompanied by that measure of literary improvement 
demanded by the present age. We especially need 
to maintain the idea that our lay preachers are to be 
hard and efficient workers — not persons who having 
once deserved the office wish to retain it as a formality, 
and perhaps crown it with the ceremony of an ordina- 
tion, when their activity and usefulness are things of 
the past. We must repudiate the giving or continu- 
ing of ecclesiastical offices as compliments, a course 
which ought never to be tolerated in Church proceed- 
ings. Indeed, any such compliment, which involves 
the slightest prejudice to the interests of the Church, 
becomes a positive dishonor to him that receives and to 
those that give it. 

The crowning desideratum in this department of 
effort is faithful work, and a desire only for the honor 
that Cometh down from above. *' Give me," said 
John Wesley, " one hundred preachers who fear noth- 
ing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care 
not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; 
such alone will shake the gates of hell, and set up the 
kingdom of heaven upon earth." And the Church 



PRAYING BANDS. 413 

echoes the prayer, only pleading for thousands instead 
of hundreds of such preachers. 

Within recent years there have sprung up among 
us some examples of a special agency of revival effort 
under the title of Praying Bands. The idea of 
these bands appears to have been derived, in part at 
least, from Mr. Wesley's original institution of Band 
Society, which in American Methodism has been 
allowed to lapse too much out of view. But as the 
primary idea of the Wesleyan Band Meeting was per- 
sonal improvement and mutual help to growth in 
grace, the organization of the praying band contem- 
plates the addition of active efforts for the salvation 
of others. The extent to which such organizations 
may become useful in the future will depend upon the 
special qualifications, including deep piety and great 
-discretion, of those who feel moved to this form of 
action in behalf of Christ's cause. Having in view 
some examples which have existed and do now exist, 
it is hardly possible to conceive of a more desirable 
form of human agency for pastoral aid than a com- 
pany of true and experienced men, full of faith and 
of the Holy Ghost, ready to serve as regular or 
occasional helpers in the work of bringing in sheaves 
to the garner of our Lord. If the present is not an 
age of superabundant preaching it is one in which 
there is no lack of that means of grace. There is 
at least a greater lack of fervent, believing prayer, of 
spiritual singing, and of skillful conversation with the 
awakened and unawakened on the subject involved in 
the immediate and full salvation of the soul. Besides, 
a pastor often feels the need of variety in the form of 



414 ^ MIND TO WORK NEEDED. 

services and in the agencies employed in his Church 
and community. This is sometimes secured by min- 
isterial help and sometimes quite as appropriately by a 
visit more or less prolonged of a praying band, which 
is usually, although an organization of laymen, de- 
signed for itinerant work, and ready to go wherever 
its labors are wanted most. This form ot combined 
effort is especially adapted to missionary work in 
places of difficulty and moral destitution. When 
needed in an organized Church it should come on 
the joint request of the pastor and his leading mem- 
bers with the purpose of aiding both, but aiming es- 
pecially to encourage by example and precept the in- 
creased activity and faith of the latter. 

Nothing that has been suggested with reference to 
special plans or organizations for Church work should 
Every one's ^^ coustrucd as dcsigucd to excuse any 
^''^^' pastor from endeavoring to infuse into his 

Church as a whole and into each micmber as an in- 
dividual the spirit of work for the cause of Christ. 
When special committees are appointed or organiza- 
tions formed, great care should be taken to remove 
any impression or conjecture that no Church mem- 
ber is expected to work without special nomination or 
formal appointment. On the contrary, the mind to 
work* should be commended in all, and all should be 
appealed to, to devise plans of usefulness and to put 
forth efforts to do good in their several spheres. Es- 
pecially should all be exhorted to visit their neigh- 
bors and invite them to attend Church, to welcome 
strangers to the house of God and introduce them to 

* See Nehemiah iv, 6. 



ALL HAVE DUTLES. 415 

the pastor, to distribute tracts and converse relig- 
iously with all to whom they can have access. Chris- 
tian cordiality of manner is in itself a powerful attrac- 
tion, which often expresses as significantly as words 
the invitation, " Come with us, and we will do you 
good." Christian letter-writing, as well as conversa- 
tion, may often be very useful in arresting attention 
and committing persons to acts of decision in behalf 
of their souls. Visits of sympathy and Christian kind- 
ness to the poor, the sick, and the afflicted seldom fail 
to open the way of access to their hearts.* Both at 
home and abroad the humblest Christians can find 
work to do for the Divine Master, and it is impossi- 
ble to foretell to what an extent of usefulness a man 
or a woman may arrive who from early life is con- 
trolled by the supreme purpose of doing good unto 
all men. 

A review of the topics treated in this chapter will 
convince any one that pastors of the present day are 
neither called upon to go "a warfare at their own 
charges," nor to fight or work single-handed. On the 
contrary, great helps are available to them through 
the properly wielded co-operation of others. Some 
readers may be disposed to cavil at the idea of in- 
creased "machinery" and novel instrumentalities in 
Church work. Probably the same persons feel no 
alarm at the employment of machinery to transmit 
the telegrams or print the newspapers and books 
they read. In all probability they glory in the speed 
of the locomotive, and are on the alert to profit by 
all the material inventions and progress of the age. 

* See Matthew xxv, 36. 



4l6 MORAL MACHINERY. 

Let them, then, consider whether it is not in per- 
fect harmony with the genius of that Christianity to 
which the age owes all its valuable inventions and 
real progress to employ such variations in the modes 
of presenting truth and applying influence as may be 
adapted to the promotion of its grand designs in the 
changed and ever-changing circumstances of society. 
In other words, let such persons explain why moral 
machinery is not as valuable in its place as physical. 
Nevertheless, the writer would enter an uncompro- 
mising caveat against any undue reliance on instru- 
mentalities of any kind apart from the influence of 
the Spirit of God. "Things new and old" are the 
prescription of the Master. Yet all things are to 
be in subordination to the Spirit of truth, which is 
Christ's promised gift, designed to abide with the 
Church forever.* While without Christ we can do 
nothing, and while with his Spirit strengthening us 
we can do all things, we should consider it as much 
our duty to try new measures that give reasonable 
promise of usefulness as to profit by the results of 
past experience and by a steadfast adherence to the 
unchanging truth of God. Nothing is more certain 
than that to spiritual Christianity belongs the right, 
and if the right, then the duty, of employing the 
facilities and agencies of modern civilization as means 
of advancing its conquests over the nations of the 
earth. Who complains that missionaries now go by 
railroad and steam-ship to China, instead of making 
the long voyage by wind and sail around the Cape of 
Good Hope.^ And who that reflects that but for 

*See John xiv, i6, 17. 



CHRISTIANITY THE SOURCE OF PROGRESS. 417 

ocean-going ships of one kind or the other the mis- 
sionaries could not reach China at all? The same 
principle is also involved in home operations of every 
kind. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness 
thereof;" and whatever in the progress of the world's 
development may be employed for the glory of God 
or the advancement of the interests of the Church 
of Christ, should be freely and diligently used by 
Christians as their lawful heritage. "All things are 
yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the 
world, or life, or death, or things present, or things 
to come ; all are yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and 
Christ is God's." i Cor. iii, 21-23. Surely modern 
progress has not yet outstripped the far-reaching con- 
ception of the apostle in this declaration. In the 
light of the text quoted, he who would confine the 
Church to fixed and unvarying modes of action is as 
clearly wrong as he who, lest he should interfere with 
the Spirit of God, would reject human instrumental- 
ity altogether. Let it then be hoped that modern 
pastors, while faithful to guard the old landmarks of 
revealed truth and thorough scriptural experience, will 
use their Christian liberty in employing and devising 
the best auxiliary means of extending the knowledge 
of both wherever humanity is perishing for lack of 
the great salvation. 

There is a happy art of doing and yet/ not seem- 
ing to do. Some men are so anxious to have the 
credit of all the good that is done in a Church 
that they practically reject co-operation, and curtail 
their usefulness to the limits of their personal agency. 
Even that agency is impaired and prejudiced by a 



4l8 MAGNANIMITY DEMANDED. 

course so unworthy of ministers of the gospel. The 
true Christian pastor, however, is at once magnani- 
mous and self-forgetful, anxious to give others all 
credit due, and willing to merge himself and his own 
efforts in the accomplishment of the Master's will 
and the promotion of the divine glory, whoever may 
be the agent. With this spirit, as illustrated by cor- 
responding exertions and diligence, he may not only 
hope to be useful in the best of all causes, but also 
to be an organizer of usefulness to which neither time 
nor space can set limits. 



THE NECESSITY OF REVIVALS. 419 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATION TO REVIVALS AND 
REVIVAL AGENCIES. 

TRUE religion consists in perfect union between 
God and man. It implies the full discharge of 
human duty and the free bestowment on man of the 
divine blessings. Whatever lessens the intimacy of 
that union, or interrupts the bestowment or acceptance 
of those blessings, makes a revival of true spiritual 
life necessary in the soul of man. The necessity of 
revivals comes not from any arbitrariness in our 
Heavenly Father as to giving or withholding his 
spiritual favor, but rather from the proneness of 
men, however exalted in the divine favor, to relapse 
into coldness, formality, indifference, and unbelief 

When we consider the enduring mercy of God and 
the travail of the Redeemer's soul in behalf of lost 
men, we can see no reason why the light of life should 
not be continually spreading without ever receding, 
or why the spiritual power of the Church should not 
be continually augmenting without ever declining. 
But when we consider the unfaithfulness of men, the 
oppositions and allurements of the world, and the 
temptations of the devil, we see the explanation but 
no justification of the fact that the light of even true 



420 CHRISTIANITY A REVIVAL. 

religion has often been dimmed and intermittent, and 
has as often needed rekindhng by revival influence. 

The Old Testament Scriptures record numerous 
facts which illustrate these principles, extending from 
patriarchal times down through Jewish history to the 
days of Malachi. Many of the prophecies abound in 
revival phraseology and in glorious promises which 
were to be fulfilled under the Christian dispensation. 
In fact, Christianity itself may be considered a revival 
and enlargement of whatever essential features of re- 
ligion were embodied in Judaism. 

The entire ministry of Christ was of the revival 
type. He preached repentance and promised the for- 
giveness of sins. He required those who would be 
his disciples to come out from the world, to deny 
themselves, and to take up their cross and follow him. 
He enjoined upon his followers the world-wide exten- 
sion of his truth, requiring them to be the " light of the 
world," and to "let their light so shine that men may 
see their good works and glorify their Father which 
is in heaven." As " children of the Hght," they were 
like the wise virgins to keep their lamps trimmed and 
burning, and to seek to " turn men from darkness to 
light and from the power of Satan unto God." The 
promise of " the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost," 
was also associated with this duty. " If I depart I 
will send him unto you, and when he is come he will 
reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judg- 
ment." John xvi, 8. Thus it may be seen that the 
The divine diviuc plan for the extension of true religion 
P^^"- contemplated an increase of efficiency in 

the successive dispensations, until Christianity should 



THE DIVINE PLAN. 42 1 

be thoroughly furnished with spiritual agencies ade- 
quate to the conversion of the world. It was no part 
of that plan that Christians should alternate between 
action and inaction, languishing from time to time in 
order to be revived again. On the contrary, it was 
made at once their duty and their privilege to be " al- 
ways abounding in the work of the Lord." The New 
Testament Church, as a whole and in its various 
branches, was organized for this specific work, and 
while faithful to its design it prospered and prevailed 
over the most formidable oppositions, and rapidly ex- 
tended its influence to the chief nations of its period. 
Had the scriptural theory and practice of missionary 
and revival effort continued to be exemplified, who can 
tell how soon a pure Christianity might have been 
established to the very ends of the earth ! 

But, alas ! the Church in its next historical phase 
became corrupted in this very respect, and commenced 
seeking to extend itself by political rather than spirit- 
ual agencies, by alliances with the State rather than by 
humble dependence on God and truth. Consequently, 
like the backslider in heart, the ancient Church was 
" filled with its own ways." Spiritual declension fol- 
lowed external expansion, and for long and dreary 
centuries, the moral power and spiritual life of the 
Church remained nearly extinct amid prevailing errors 
and, corruptions. But still a light glimmered in the 
darkness, an incorruptible seed was left, and after 
many unsuccessful attempts to secure reform within 
the Church, a Reformation was effected by coming out 
from that spiritual Babylon which the Roman Church 
had become, and re-organizing Churches on a script- 



422 THE REFORMATION A REVIVAL. 

ural basis. Thus the Reformation was a revival, and 
so long as the scriptural principles which governed 
its origin prevailed, its progress was rapid and its 
effects were glorious. When subsequently the Re- 
formed Churches, and particularly the Church of En- 
gland, lapsed into spiritual deadness through moral 
inactivity and the neglect of the truth, another revival 
arose which, first as a term of reproach, and subse- 
quently as an accepted distinction, received the name 
Methodism a of Mcthodism. Tlius, the historical idea 
revival. ^^ Mcthodism is that of a revival of pure 

and undefiled religion. Stevens justly characterizes it 
as a "great religious movement." Speaking of Meth- 
odism generally, he says, " It was a system of vital doc- 
trines and practical expedients — a breaking away of all 
the old dead weights which had incumbered the march 
of the Reformation — a revival Church in its spirit, a 
missionary Church in its organization." Its original de- 
sign, so far as comprehended by Wesley and his coad- 
jutors, was wholly missionary and revivalistic, but it 
was soon found that successful results of this character 
could not be made permanent without pastoral super- 
vision ; hence the formation of societies, and in due 
time, of Churches. But these societies and Churches 
were also designed to be missionary in their influence, 
and to embody revival agencies in their mode of exist- 
ence and forms of action. In this they sought to fol- 
low the example of the Pentecostal Church, and of the 
other Churches founded by the apostles. 

Other revivals of religion not less clearly marked in 
character, though perhaps of less obvious extent and 
influence, have occurred all along the history of the i 



A REVIVAL AGE, 423 

Church in different countries, but more especially 
where the pure Word of God has been read and 
preached. Hence, it may be affirmed that God has 
ever been true to his promises, so that whenever even 
a faithful few have sought the gift of the Holy Ghost 
according to the teaching of the divine word, they 
have not sought in vain. Yet, through the with- 
holding of the Holy Scriptures, false teachings with 
reference to the nature and office of the Holy Ghost 
and other similar causes, what dismal periods of de- 
clension and barrenness, what multipled years of 
darkness and moral death have been the heritage of 
the Church ! Hence, too, what slow and doubtful 
progress has been made by Christianity during centu- 
ries when it ought to have been filling the earth with 
light and knowledge ! But we now have cause for 
devout thankfulness that God in answer to more 
general and united prayer, and in sanction of more 
earnest and persevering effort, has at length more 
generally revived his work. Thus it has come to 
pass that within recent periods, Pentecostal scenes 
'have become frequent. Churches have been revived 
and multiplied. Christians in vast numbers have been 
quickened to a higher life, the borders of Zion have 
been enlarged, and hopes have been awakened for the 
speedy conversion of the world. Happy are those 
ministers of the Lord Jesus who enter upon their 
work under such influences, and who consecrate their 
lives to the propagation of the gospel by the use of 
all the varied and multiplying agencies which God has 
appointed and blessed for that purpose. 

It is from this point of view that ministerial duty 



424 ANALYSIS OF THE SUBJECT. 

is now to be studied ; hence, the relevancy and im- 
portance of the following questions : 

1. Why should pastors seek to promote revivals of 
religion ? 

2. What are the best methods for promoting re- 
vivals ? 

3. In what ways can the fruit of revivals be best 
secured and made most permanent in the Church ? 

In proceeding to consider these questions, it may 
be remarked, that, although the missionary and pas- 
toral phases of Christian effort are so different in 
some respects as to deserve distinct recognition, yet 
they are so essentially one in object that they blend 
together advantageously, and, in fact, ought never 
to be wholly separated from each other. Missionary 
success, whether in Christian or pagan lands, needs 
always to be followed by faithful pastoral labor, and 
the highest success in the pastorate can never be 
attained without the employment of missionary agen- 
cies and the practical development of a missionary 
spirit. The oppositions of the human heart are es- 
sentially the same in all ages, countries, and circum- 
stances. They may, indeed, be increased by heathen 
superstitions and the practice of idolatry. On the 
other hand, the influences of a nominal Christianity 
may, by degrees, prepare the way of the Lord, yet 
in both conditions the influences of the Holy Spirit 
are essential to the conversion and ultimate salvation 
of man. 

I. Some of the essential points involved in the 
first of the above questions have already been indi- 
cated. Nevertheless, it may now be summarily an- 



REVIVAL MOTIVES. 425 

swered that Christian pastors should seek to promote 
revivals of religion for the following and other kin- 
dred reasons : 

1. In order to the effective accomplishment of 
the highest objects of their life — the salvation of 
souls. 

2. In order to the accomplishment of that work 
on a broader scale, and to a wider extent than would 
be possible without the influences of general and 
powerful awakenings by the Spirit of God. What 
faithful pastor has not had occasion to mourn over 
the powerlessness of even the most appropriate forms 
of religion.? Who that comprehends the difference 
between spiritual life and death has failed to per- 
ceive the deep significance of Ezekiel's vision of 
the valley of dry bones, as representing the condi- 
tion of an inanimate Church, in which the bones, 
though many, are "very dry." And who that has 
witnessed the blessed influences of a revival in 
clothing dry bones with flesh and filling them with 
breath and life, has failed better to understand the 
reviving power of the Spirit of God and the glori- 
ous significance of the revival promises } (See Ezekiel 
xxxvi, 25-27 ; xxxvii, 14.) Such words indicate pre- 
cisely what is accomplished by a genuine revival of 
religion, and what any pastor may hope to see real- 
ized as a result of uniting his efforts with the saving- 
grace and sovereign power of God. In a true revi- 
val of religion God " makes bare his arm " in behalf 
of the cause to which the pastor's life is devoted. 
Christian sympathy and activity are also brought to 
his aid in more powerful degrees than usual; and 

36 



426 DIVINE PROMISES, 

hence, although humbled with a sense of his own 
insufficiency, he is often permitted to witness in 
weeks greater results than in years of routine and 
ordinary labor. 

3. Revivals of religion are equally in harmony 
with the moral wants of men and the divine econ- 
omy of means for their rescue from sin and moral 
death. Human life is filled with alternations, as 
between waking and sleeping, labor and rest, storm 
and calm, excitement and repose. If, in physical 
life, the prevailing tendency is to inertia, it is even 
more so in our moral and spiritual relations. Phys- 
ical inertia is, in some degree, counteracted by the 
stern necessities of life. In like manner God has 
appointed agencies to counteract moral indifference 
and spiritual torpor. Hence, however men may en- 
deavor to quiet consciences burdened with guilt, or 
to lull themselves with thoughts of "peace, peace, 
when there is no peace," God's plan is to arouse 
them more or less frequently, either by startling 
providences, herald-like proclamations of the gospel, 
the admonitions of Christian friendship, the striv- 
ings of the Holy Spirit, or by all these causes com- 
bined. It is, consequently, the duty of the Church \ 
to promote and apply the various moral and spiritual 
agencies by which men are rescued from sin and 
trained for heaven. In so doing, blessed revivals of 
religion are secured with the happiest results.. 

4. Genuine revivals of religion are of unspeakable 
advantage to the Church. They arouse its activities, 
they quicken its sympathies, and increase its moral 
power by shaking off its dead weights and giving 



SPIRITUAL EFFECTS. 427 

it the animation and hopefulness of conscious suc- 
cess. The effect of the revival in New England, in 
I735> observed by Jonathan Edwards, was, by him, 
stated in the following terms: 

Persons ''that before this wonderful time had been some- 
thing religious and concerned for their salvation, have been 
awakened in a new manner, and made sensible that their slack 
and dull way of seeking was never like to attain their purpose, 
and so have been roused up to a greater violence for the king- 
dom of heaven. These awakenings, when they have first seized 
on persons, have had two effects : One was that they have 
brought them immediately to quit their sinful practices, and the 
looser sort have been brought to forsake their former vices and 
extravagances. When once the Spirit of God began to be so 
wonderfully poured out in a general way through the town, 
people had soon done with their quarrels, backbitings, and in- 
termeddling with other men's matters ; tlie tavern was soon left 
empty, and persons kept very much at home; none went 
abroad unless on necessary business or on some religious ac- 
count, and every day seemed, in many respects, like a Sabbath 
day. The other effect was, that it put them on earnest applica- 
tion to the means of salvation — reading, prayer, meditation, the 
ordinances of God's house, and private conferences. Their cry 
was, 'What shall we do to be saved.-*' 

"These things have been accompanied with an exceeding 
concern and zeal for moral duties, and that all professors may 
with them adorn the doctrine of God their Savior, and an un- 
common care to perform relative and social duties, and a noted 
eminence in them ; a great inofFensiveness of life and conver- 
sation in the sight of others ; a great meekness, gentleness, and 
benevolence of spirit and behavior, and a great alteration in 
those things that formerly used to be the person's failings." 

Well might the great metaphysician affirm such 
a work not only to be genuine, but glorious, and in 
answer to familiar objections exclaim : 

! " Now if such things are enthusiasm, and the fruits of a dis- 
- tempered brain, let my brain be evermore possessed of that 



428 CONCURRENT TESTIMONY. 

happy distemper ! If this be distraction, I pray God that the 
world of mankind may be all seized with this benign, meek, 
beneficent, beatifical, glorious distraction !" 

The rapid growth and the higher prosperity of 
Christian Churches in modern times is greatly- 
owing to revivals of religion. This has not only 
been emphatically true throughout the whole his- 
tory of Methodism, but also in other Churches. 
Dr. Sprague, of the Presbyterian Church, writing 
one hundred years later than Edwards (1832), said 
in terms which have been appropriate ever since: 

" It has come to pass in these days in which we live, that 
far the greater number of those who are turned from dark- 
ness to light, so far as we can judge, experience the change 
during revivals of religion. It is for revivals that the Church 
is continually praying, and to them that she is looking for ac- 
cessions, both to her numbers and her strength. The praise 
of revivals is upon her lips and upon the lips of her sons and 
daughters who come crowding to her solemn feasts." 

Bishop MTlvaine, writing at the last-mentioned 
date, also said : 

" Whatever I possess of religion began in a revival. The 
most precious, steadfast, and vigorous fruits of my ministry 
have been the fruits of revivals. I believe that the spirit of 
revivals, in the true sense, was the simple spirit of the religion 
of apostolic times, and will be, more and more, the character- 
istic of these times as the day of the Lord draws near." 

Moreover, contrary to the impressions of many, 
it may be affirmed that revivals tend to develop 
important phases of Christian character in those 
who are converted in connection with them. " I 
have observed," says Mr. Wesley, " that few who 
set out in good earnest go back; but of those 
who set out coldly, one out of five generally does." 



INCREASE OF MINISTERIAL POWER. 429 

Other competent witnesses down to the present day 
affirm that larger proportions of persons converted 
under revival influences hold on their religious course 
firmly, than of those professing religion apart from 
special efforts and means of grace. The reason may 
be that they set out with greater earnestness, and 
become accustomed from the first to greater activity 
and more whole-hearted consecration to the divine 
service. In this view, the general Christian activity 
of the present day may be attributed in no small 
degree to the same cause. 

5. Revivals are invaluable as means of increasing 
ministerial power. On this point Dr. Sprague has 
well said: 

" Revivals increase the efficiency of the Christian ministry, 
both by increasing the qualifications of those who are engaged 
in it and by bringing others to give themselves to the work. 
They serve to raise the tone of ministerial quahfication. A 
minister can learn that in a revival which he can scarcely learn 
in any other circumstances. There he enjoys advantages which 
he can have nowhere else for becoming acquainted with the 
windings of the human heart, for ascertaining the influence of 
different truths upon different states of feehng, for learning how 
to detect false hopes and to ascertain and confirm good hopes, 
and, I may add, for getting his soul deeply imbued with the true 
spirit of his work. Accordingly it has often been remarked that 
ministers, after having passed through a revival, have preached, 
and prayed, and done their whole work with far more earnest- 
ness and effect than before, and they themselves have not unfre- 
quently acknowledged that what they had gained during such a 
season has been worth more to them than the study of years." 

James Caughey uses similar and even more forcible 
language on this important subject : 

" Engaging in a revival has a remarkable tendency to invig- 
orate the soul of a preacher, and to impart a keenness of edge 



430 HARVEST SEASONS. 

and a piercing point to his preaching. Lessons upon the true 
method of preaching to sinners are learned during a revival 
which are seldom or never to be obtained in the retirement of 
the study. In one revival of religion a man will learn better 
how to preach the truths of Christianity in such a manner as 
will awaken and convert men than he could in many years' close 
study in connection with his ordinary ministry." * 

The language of William Arthur bearing upon this 
subject is of similar tenor: 

"It is wonderful how much the occurrence of conversions 
heightens the efficiency of men already employed in the minis- 
try or in other departments of the work of God. The preacher 
preaches with new heart, the exhorter exhorts with revived feel- 
ing, he that prays has double faith and fervor, and the joy of 
conquest breathes new vigor into all the Lord's host." 

6. Revivals are necessary as harvest seasons to 
gather in the fruits of pastoral seed-sowing. Noth- 
ing should ever be said to decrease efforts or expecta- 
tions for immediate and constant fruits from religious 
faithfulness both in the pulpit and pastoral work. In 
God's husbandry the seeds of truth sometimes mature 
quickly, and faithful labor is followed by speedy and 
bountiful returns. Nevertheless, it is not always so, 
but for lack of the "rain of righteousness" seed lies 
buried long without germinating. Indeed, without 
that rain and other genial influences from above it 
may never germinate or mature. Hence the neces- 
sity of revivals, in which God's Spirit is poured out 
both to soften the hearts of men and to quicken the 
germs of truth. However we may theorize on the 
possibility and desirability of continuous revivals, it 

*For many excellent suggestions on this and kindred topics see 
Caughe3^'s Methodism in Earnest, Revival Miscellanies, and other 
works. 



SOWING AND REAPING. 43 1 

is evident that the period of their prevalence has not 
yet arrived in the history of the Church. Nor is it 
certain that when it shall arrive, it will not be char- 
acterized with more or less alternation of seasons and 
phases of growth corresponding to seed-time and har- 
vest in the natural world. At present it is well known 
that revivals are not often enjoyed except in sequence 
of suitable preparation, whether of longer or shorter 
continuance. It is furthermore obvious that every 
species of well-directed pastoral labor should com- 
prehend future as well as present designs. Indeed, 
from a definite aim both at present and at future re- 
sults all forms of Church activity derive their chief 
importance. Without such an aim, supported by faith 
and prayer, much of our Sunday-school work, tract 
distribution, pastoral visiting, and even preaching 
would lose their evangelical significance and dwindle 
to mere ceremonies. If nothing more were contem- 
plated, it might be considered a sufficient privilege 
to spend a life-time sowing the seed of the kingdom 
of heaven. But the "Lord of the harvest" has been 
pleased to appoint a still higher privilege* to his labor- 
ers. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He 
that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, 
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing 
his sheaves with him." Ps. cxxvi, 5, 6. 

Hence every sower should aim also to be a reaper. 
While he should scatter the seed of the kingdom with 
diligence, and earnestly pray for both the former and 
the latter rain upon it, he should also be anxious to 
thrust in the sickle and reap a harvest of righteous- 
ness whenever it may please God to give the increase. 



432 REVIVALS NECESSARY. 

"•Hope deferred" may sometimes make "the heart 
sick," nevertheless it is his duty to "hope and be 
undismayed." "The word of God will not return 
unto him void, but will prosper in the thing where- 
unto it is sent." While as an ultimate result this 
is certain, yet the salvation of souls is periled by 
delay. So many are prone to content themselves 
with mere forms of worship, with being almost per- 
suaded to be Christians, and with the various delusive 
forms of procrastination by which the actual service 
of God is postponed, that the effectual work of grace 
is hindered, and souls that have been brought to the 
very verge of the kingdom of heaven are kept in 
perpetual jeopardy. What motives, therefore, crowd 
upon a pastor to urge his hearers to instant decision, 
and to invoke the aid of the blessed Spirit of awak- 
ening to incline them to repentance! Unless these 
ends are reached souls for whom he has labored may 
perish in his sight. What a fatal error, therefore, is it 
for a pastor to be wanting in either faith or diligence 
in revival efforts as a means of securing the fruits 
which God designs to bestow as a result of faithful 
labor in his vineyard ! But it is not always allotted 
to even the diligent husbandman to reap the harvest 
sown by his own hand. Thus pastors often enter 
upon the labors of faithful men who have gone before 
them, and they in turn may leave seed sown to be 
harvested by their successors. Yet if all are true 
to their proper responsibilities, whoever may gather 
"fruit unto eternal life," both "he that soweth and 
he that reapeth may rejoice together" in the ultimate 
fruition of their hope and toil. This theory of the \^ 



THE MEANS. 433 

necessity of revivals is sustained by numerous facts in 
the history of the Church of God in different periods 
and countries. Very strikingly has it been illustrated 
in the history of Methodism. This fact is summarily 
and officially indicated in the following brief extract 
of one of the pastoral addresses of the British Wes- 
leyan Conference, (1840): 

'■'• Some Churches regard revivals of religion as gracious sin- 
gularities in their history ; we regard them as essential to our 
existence. If a regular series of divine visitations, issuing in 
the conversion of sinners, be not vouchsafed to us, we must 
either change the spiritual constitution of our Discipline, or we 
shall pine away from the tribes of God's Israel." 

Such views are fully entertained by the Methodists 
of America, as might be shown by numberless refer- 
ences to their current literature and official documents. 

II. The second question. How may revivals be pro- 
moted.^ is almost tantamount to the inquiry: In what 
ways may ministers and Churches realize the promise 
of the Father in the baptism of the Holy Ghost as a 
gift of power to witness effectively for God and Christ 
to the hearts and consciences of men } There is ob- 
viously a human and a divine side to both forms of 
the question. . Moreover, it is not sufficient to answer 
such questions by the summary declaration that prayer 
and obedience are the essential conditions of securing 
those great blessings. Instead of such merely cate- 
gorical teaching, the inspired writers have recorded 
for the instruction of the Church the narrative of the 
Pentecostal revival, and of other actual agencies em- 
ployed in the establishment of the Churches of theii 
day. Since that period, facts both of a positive and 

37 



434 REVIVAL HISTORY. 

negative character have been accumulating in the his- " 
tory of the Church, which form a most valuable com- 
mentary upon the precepts and examples of Scripture. 
No detailed comparison is necessary to show that the 
Christian events of the last century and a half corre- 
spond more nearly to the revivals of the early Church 
and the missionary enterprises of the apostolic age 
than those of any of the intervening periods. Thus, 
the revival history of modern times has come to be 
a very important study for ministers of the gospel. 
From it they may learn that lapse of time does not 
diminish the power of truth or the influence of divine 
grace upon the hearts and lives of men. In like man- 
ner it may be seen that the effects resulting from gen- 
uine revivals of religion at different periods of time 
and in circumstances the most diverse, are strikingly 
similar. The study of revival history also throws light 
upon the means and measures best adapted to the pro- 
motion of the work of God among men. 

Whoever would see these principles illustrated in 
the records of competent witnesses from different 
parts of the world and of different theological views, 
would do well to compare Jonathan Edwards's " Nar- 
rative of the surprising work of God in Northampton, 
Mass., 1735," also, his "Thoughts on the revival of 
religion in New England, 1740," with authentic his- 
tories of the revival which commenced about the same 
time on the other side of the Atlantic under the la- 
bors of Wesley and his coadjutors. Similar compari- 
sons may be made and equally striking parallels drawn 
from the accounts of other revivals with which God 
has blessed the Church in greater or less degree from 



CHRISTIAN PREPARATION. 435 

that period to the present time. Collate for instance 
the accounts of revivals in the Methodist Churches of 
England, Ireland, and the United States during the 
century following 1740 with those in the Presby- 
terian Church of Scotland, in 1840, under the labors 
of M'Cheyne, Burns, Milne, and the Bonars. Again, 
compare the history of revival scenes and experiences 
in the evangelical Churches in America, in 1857 and 
subsequently, with that of the great revival in Ireland, 
in 1859. To bring the comparison to a still later day, 
let it embrace accounts of the recent work of God in 
Australia, 'South Africa, the Island of Ceylon, and In- 
dia side by side with the revival records of American 
camp-meetings and other special meetings designed 
to promote religious awakenings and conversions for 
the current year, and it will be seen that the simi- 
larity of result in all essential particulars amounts to 
identity. 

In proceeding to notice the prominent agencies that 
deserve to be recognized as means for the promotion 
of revivals, it is proper to say that they have not been 
employed with uniform degrees of prominence in the 
past, nor are they recommended as specific rules for 
future guidance ; nevertheless, as the results of expe- 
rience and in harmony with scriptural teaching, they 
deserve the thoughtful attention of ministers. 

I. Christian preparation. — The message of John the 
Baptist, introductory to the Savior's advent, was, " Pre- 
pare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." 
So in the experience of Churches there needs to be 
moral and spiritual preparation for the coming of the 
Lord and the descent of the Holy Ghost. The great 



436 SPECIAL PRAYER. 

and ever-essential agency of this preparation is prayer, 
special, earnest, and united prayer. "Ask and ye 
shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall 
be opened unto you." 

Special prayer for a revival may commence in a 
pastor's own closet. It may expand to embrace his 
family, afterward a few, and at length many in the 
Church. The Fulton-street prayer-meeting in New 
York, when originally appointed, was, during the first 
half hour, only attended by one man, but he found 
the Savior present, and without idly waiting or ad- 
journing to a more convenient season, he redeemed 
the time in earnest supplication. Before the hour 
had expired a few others came in to join him, and 
from this small beginning commenced a wonderful 
and glorious work of grace. So, perhaps, in myriads 
of cases the original movers in great religious awaken- 
ings have been single individuals, the answer to whose 
fervent prayers have descended on others who have 
joined them in praying and working for the salvation 
of men. No Christian, therefore, whether layman or 
pastor, ever ought to despair of being instrumental in 
promoting a revival of religion so long as he has ac- 
cess to the throne of the heavenly grace. But pastors 
have at once greater advantages and greater respon- 
sibilities than others for the promotion of the work of 
the Lord by this instrumentality. They may employ 
preaching and official influence as a means of promot- 
ing prayer and efibrt for the salvation of men. Indeed, 
it is the obvious duty of every pastor who desires to 
promote a revival of true religion, to call upon his 
people to unite with him in fervent and continuous 



PRAYER FOR REVIVALS, 43/ 

prayer for the preparation of the Spirit, for fuller ex- 
periences of divine grace, and for all requisite qualifi- 
cations to engage efficiently in the work of the Lord. 
Many well-meant efforts to promote revivals prove 
abortive for lack of suitable preparation. Hence, 
while the right spiritual condition of the Church 
should never be lost sight of, it should receive the 
particular attention of pastors in connection with 
special efforts for the salvation of sinners. In this 
view it is well to hold select meetings of believers to 
pray and consult together in reference to the spiritual 
wants of the Church, the removal of stumbling-blocks 
and the necessity of effort to rescue souls from sin 
and death. On such occasions let the commands and 
promises of God be faithfully exhibited, and let every 
one, old and young, male and female, be pledged not 
only to prayer but to immediate and united effort. 

Prayer for the revival of God's work should also be 
accompanied with fasting, according to the Savior's 
precepts. Nor should it be vague and general, but 
concentrated upon special objects and individual souls. 
One* who has had much experience in revivals, makes 
the following suggestions as to concentrated and indi- 
vidual action in preparatory efforts for the awakening 
and conversion of sinners : 

" Let the day preceding public services be observed by all 
the Church members as a season of special prayer, fasting, or 
abstinence, and a noon or afternoon meeting held for individual 
and united dedication to the work. All subsequent days during 
the continuance of the special services, we would have Christ's 
laborers devote one half hour at least, by rising earlier than they 
have been accustomed, to spend in special closet prayer, hrst 

* Editor of "Guide to Holiness." 



438 GOD'S FAVOR. 

asking that their minds may be directed to some one person for 
whom they may pray during the day, as for their own soul, and 
whom they may visit and lead to the house of God, and, if possi- 
ble, to the altar of prayer. We would suggest that some new sub- 
j ect of such efforts be singled out daily. We would also urge that 
this be done with each successive day, in the spirit of sacrifice, 
casting aside that enthusiastic doctrine, that we are not to do good 
unless we feel free to it, and knowing that we must not sacrifice 
to God that which costs nothing, remembering also that faith 
without works is dead." 

The highest discretion and spiritual discernment 
will often be needed to determine when preparatory 
measures for the promotion of a revival should give 
place to other forms of effort. The best experience 
indeed indicates that they should never be wholly 
superseded. The idea of religious preparation is rel- 
ative. Some in a Church may receive it sooner than 
others, and the same persons may acquire and receive 
it in higher and increasing degrees. Therefore, al- 
though not exclusively, let the work of renewed and 
increased preparation be kept up that the circle of 
revival influence may continue to widen and accumu- 
late power. 

2. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Since we live 
under the dispensation of the Spirit, it is not so much 
our duty to wait as to believe for his manifestations. 
But his divine manifestations must be experienced or 
there is no true revival of religion. From the very 
beginning, therefore, and all along, let emphatic prom- 
inence be given to the absolute necessity of divine 
aid to accompany and render effectual all the means 
employed for the promotion of God's work in its 
various forms. Thus may feeble humanity join with 
Omnipotence for the accomplishment of the divine 



REVIVAL PREACHING. 439 

pleasure in the spiritual strengthening of the Church 
and the salvation of the ungodly. Thus, by divinely 
instituted means may the Church avail herself of the 
resources of infinite power for the overthrow of Satan's 
kingdom and the subduing of a revolted world to the 
sway of the Prince of Peace. But let her never ex- 
pect success if she embark in this " warfare at her own 
charges," or relying on her own unaided strength or 
wisdom. 

3. Azvakening preachhig. " How shall they hear 
without a preacher .?" One important result of a quick- 
ened experience on the part of Church members is a 
better attendance upon the various means of grace. 
All legitimate efforts should be employed to increase 
the attendance of hearers upon the preaching of the 
word. While other agencies are sometimes success- 
ful for the awakening of souls, it is more usually with 
than without preaching, which is God's appointed 
means for that great end. But in order that preach- 
ing may answer effectively this specific object, it must 
be aimed at it. There must be neither vagueness nor 
unbelief in the preacher's mind. This is the point at 
which many pastors fail, and because they fail it is 
often necessary that evangelists, who make revival 
preaching a specialty, be called to their aid. With 
reference to this subject, however, no rule can be 
prescribed. In some cases a pastor's work is so la- 
borious that he must have help in some form, and it 
is easier to secure it in his pulpit than in his pastoral 
administration. Besides, there are occasions when 
variety of manner and matter is needed to awaken 
greater interest in a congregation. Now whether 



440 SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES. 

this help and variety is to be best secured by ex- 
changes between pastors, or by the employment of per- 
sons specially engaged in the work of evangelization, 
is a question of secondary importance compared with 
the necessity of having preaching in all respects 
adapted to the circumstances or occasion of revival 
efforts. Our theory is, that while helpers, as above 
indicated, may often render most valuable aid, yet as 
a rule, all pastors should be revival preach- 
ers, prepared and accustomed to conduct special 
services of all appropriate kinds connected with the 
promotion of God's work in every form of its mani- 
festation. 

This theory has been contemplated in what we have 
written in a previous chapter, and elsewhere,* on the 
subject of preaching. It consequently requires no vin- 
dication here, although, did space allow, it might be 
corroborated by numerous references to the history of 
revivals and of those ministers whose labors have been 
greatly blessed in winning souls to Christ. 

While in the whole course of his ministry a pastor 
should desire and endeavor to preach " the Gospel with 
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven," i Peter 
i, 12 ; yet in revivals of religion, and in efforts to 
promote them, he is most of all likely to feel his need 
of divine aid, and if properly sustained by the prayers 
and faith of God's people, he may hope to experience 
it in -a more than ordinary degree. When the Holy 
Spirit is poured out upon a community, not only are 
the consciences of the people more tender than usual, 
but the soul of a true pastor is fired with unwonted 

* Vide Homiletics, chapters x and xvi. 



APPLY THE TRUTH. 



441 



energy, so that preaching is easy and delightful. But 
let him not on those accounts be neglectful of the 
special preparation which the circumstances require. 
Rather let him profit by those circumstances, and 
seek to derive from them an increase of power for his 
present and permanent work. If previously he has 
sowed the true seed of the kingdom and watered it 
with his prayers and tears, now is the time to thrust 
in his sickle and reap for the garner of the Lord. If 
in calmer scenes he has interested and instructed the 
people in Christian truth, now is the time to apply 
that truth more effectively to the conscience, and urge 
instantaneous and thorough obedience to its mandates. 
If he has before made known his commission as hav- 
ing had committed to him " the word of reconcilia- 
tion," he should now as an embassador for Christ, as 
though God did beseech them by him, entreat them 
in Christ's stead, "be ye reconciled to God." By the 
use of the term awakening, as characteristic of the 
preaching adapted to promote revivals of religion, it 
is by no means intended to intimate that the doc- 
trines of Christianity are to be omitted, least of all 
substituted by harangues, exhortations, or any species 
pi sensational address. On the other hand, doctrinal 
truth is to be regarded as the great instrumentality 
of awakening souls to a just sense of their condition 
and danger, as well as to a perception of the remedy 
provided. Nevertheless, the dry and didactic forms 
which often swathe doctrinal sermons as in a wind- 
ing-sheet, should be rejected, and every effort made to 
express scriptural doctrine with life, energy, and sym- 
pathy, as well as with faithfulness. 



442 PERSONAL APPLICATION. 

In discharging the duties of his vocation as a 
preacher, the faithful pastor should not content him- 
self with public proclamations of the truth, but should 
seek opportunities for private and individual address. 
It is not by communities, or even by families, that men 
are saved. The great transaction of being reconciled 
to God is personal. "To his own master" each one 
" standeth or falleth." Hence, although the embassa- 
dor of Christ may fitly deliver his message to assem- 
bled multitudes, yet in order to make sure of its proper 
reception, he should count it a joy to apply it indi- 
vidually and separately to a single soul whenever oc- 
casion may be secured, thus adapting himself "to all 
men, that he may by all means save some." But 
whether laboring in public or in private the faithful 
pastor must never allow his hearers to forget that the 
great problem at issue is their conversion and con- 
tinued allegiance to God. He must consequently 
place before them with urgency and reiteration the 
unalterable conditions of salvation as prescribed by 
our Lord himself. 

In doing his whole duty, and doing it faithfully, 
the pastor will at least deliver his own soul, and can 
hardly fail of success in saving them that hear him. j 
But though success should not be apparent, let him 
not be discouraged, and particularly on the ground 
that he does not possess the peculiar talents of other 
men. God can use every species of talent for the 
promotion of his own glory, and each individual's re- | 
sponsibility is to use with diligence and entire devo- 
tion the very kind and degree of talent which God 
has bestowed upon him. While therefore God's ordi- 



CONTINUOUS EFFORT. 443 

nance of preaching is thus dihgently and faithfully 
employed, both ministers and members have still other 
work to do. 

4. Coiitijiiwics CJiristian effort must be the order of 
the day and the rule of Church life. Under this head 
various important duties may be enumerated without 
detailed explanations, such as 

(i.) Prayer for sinners and penitents. 

(2.) Christian conversation with friends, neighbors, 
and acquaintances, warning them faithfully and en- 
treating them earnestly to " flee from the wrath to 
come" and "lay hold on eternal life." 

(3.) JiLdicious ifistruction to those inquiring the way 
to Zion. This important duty falls specially within 
the range of pastoral responsibility. While, therefore, 
a pastor may avail himself of the aid of judicious 
Christian friends he should on no account allow seek- 
ers of religion to be disturbed or confused by the at- 
tentions of persons either incompetent or injudicious, 
however well meaning. It is better a thousand-fold 
that a penitent be left to the teachings of the Holy 
Spirit and the mercies of the Savior than to have his 
attention diverted from the burden of his soul when 
he is beginning to pray, by the officious exhortations 
of persons not competent to give instruction in such 
a crisis of one's life and destiny.* 

(4.) Fervent praise. The Church should illustrate 
the duty of praise in her own earnest devotions. Wliile 
many of her prayers may be fitly breathed in solemn 
song, the privilege of giving glory to God in the high- 
est is the present heritage of his lowliest children. 

-See "Bi-amwell's Rules for Prayer-Meetings," chapter x. 



444 YOUNG CHRISTIANS. 

And never is the voice of praise more appropriate 
than when the glories of the Redeemer are exhibited 
and the blessings of the Divine Comforter imparted 
to waiting hearts. 

The writer above quoted in reference to Christian 
preparation also says : 

"Let some energetic, spirit-baptized men and women take 
charge of the service of song. Funeral dirges must not be 
sung when an army goes forth to battle. An inspiring hymn 
sung while the congregation is assembling aids in giving tone to 
the succeeding service, and furnishes its quota toward bringing 
out the people early. Let some spirit-fired man be appointed 
to gather around him those who throughout the series of services 
shall make it his business to start appropriate songs of Zion." 

(5.) The activity of young converts. All young con- 
verts should be encouraged and habituated to bear 
witness in all appropriate ways for Jesus as their 
Savior from sin. They will thus learn to use and in- 
crease their moral power from the very beginning of 
their Christian career. " I believed, therefore have I 
spoken," said David. Jonathan Edwards said : 

" There is no one thing that I know of, that God has made such 
a means of promoting his work among us as the news of others' 
conversion in the awakening of sinners, and engaging them ear- 
nestly to seek the same blessing, and in the quickening of saints." 

Thousands of faithful ministers since the days of 
Edwards have witnessed similar results from a will- 
ing declaration, on the part of those who have re- 
ceived the divine blessing, of what he has done for 
their souls. 

Not to dwell upon these and kindred duties so 
essential to the promotion of God's work in any 
community, a few remarks may be made on the dif- 



EXTRA RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 445 

ferent forms of Christian effort, which, in recent pe- 
riods, have been found efficacious for the same object. 

A. Protracted Meetings. During the last half cen- 
tury, this term has come to be applied to special, 
continuous services designed to promote revivals of 
religion. In their general design such services are 
not new, but are analogous to the holy convoca- 
tions of the Jews, and to the daily religious serv- 
ices of the apostles during the scenes of the Pente- 
cost. Yet it is not claimed that they were instituted 
in direct imitation of either of the analogies named. 
In point of fact, they sprang up as means to an end ; 
a practical necessity growing out of a prevalent con- 
cern for the salvation of souls. In this respect they 
are like the apostolic assemblies, and also in the 
feature of being held whenever there is opportunity 
and a promise of good results, and not at fixed sea- 
sons like the Jewish festivals and the festivals of the 
ancient Christian Church. 

The latter had in them an element of historic 
commemoration which may have had an intrinsic 
value for the times for which they were instituted, 
but they were not of apostolic origin nor in full 
harmony with apostolic teaching. The apostle Paul 
not only taught the abrogation of the Jewish times 
and seasons, but of the legal principle involved in 
them. (See Rom. xiv, 5 ; Gal. iv, 9-12 ; Col. ii, 16.) 
The design of this abrogation was to promote a 
higher spirituality than had been known in the 
former dispensation, and which should be superior 
to the observance of new moons and holy days, 
although preserving on the first day of the week — 



446 ANCIENT ANALOGIES. 

the Lord's day — the sanctity of the Sabbath. But 
in subsequent periods, as that spirituality became 
marred and threatened with extinction, a necessity 
was felt for certain exterior observances that should 
favorably occupy the minds of those calling them- 
selves Christians. Hence, besides the weekly observ- 
ance of the Lord's day and the feasts of Wednesday 
and Friday, numerous annual festivals were estab- 
lished. Of these, that of Easter extended through 
fifteen days ; that of Pentecost or Whitsuntide fifty 
days, and the Lent fast through forty days. Re- 
specting the latter, Cassian, a disciple of Chrysostom, 
says : 

"As long as the perfection of the primitive Church remained 
inviolable, there was no observation of Lent, but when men be- 
gan to decline from the apostolical fervor of devotion and give 
themselves overmuch to worldly affairs, then the priests in gen- 
eral agreed to recall them from secular cares by a canonical 
indiction of fasting and setting aside a tenth of their time 
for God." 

Chrysostom gives a similar view of the subject. 
In his fifty-second homily he says : 

•' Why do we fast these forty days ? Many heretofore were 
used to come to the communion indevoutly and inconsiderately; 
therefore our forefathers, considering the mischief of such care- 
less approaches, meeting together, appointed forty days for fast- 
ing and prayer and hearing of sermons and holy assemblies." 

Augustine also says : 

"Though fasting in general be prescribed in the New Testa- 
ment, yet what days men ought to fast or not to fast is not de- 
fined by any precept of Christ or his apostles." 

Hence he deduces the just conclusion that for the 
observance of Easter, Pentecost, and Lent there is 



CHRISTIAN FESTIVALS, 44/ 

no command higher than that of councils and the 
custom of the Church. It is well known that the 
multiplication of days of religious observance, in- 
cluding the festivals of martyrs and canonized saints, 
continued to increase in the Greek and Roman 
Churches in proportion to their apostasy from the 
faith and practice of the original Church of Christ. 
On this account a strong reaction against such observ- 
ances manifested itself in most Protestant Churches 
after the Reformation, though some of them retained 
Lenten services and the more important festivals. 
But even those Churches which most uncompromis- 
ingly rejected the post-apostolic observances, when 
they have become spiritually revived and thoroughly 
in earnest about eternal things, have, as it were, spon- 
taneously allotted extra periods of time to religious 
services. Granting the propriety, and what is more, 
the moral necessity of doing this as a voluntary of- 
fering to God, it is a question of secondary import- 
ance whether the time thus devoted to God's special 
service be periodical or occasional, limited to a cer- 
tain number of days at particular seasons of the 
year, or appointed and extended according to the 
indications of Providence from time to time. The 
latter view defines the idea of a protracted meet- 
ing, which, although it might concede that Lent, 
Easter, and Whitsuntide are very suitable periods 
for extra religious effort, would, nevertheless, claim 
that other periods of the year might be equally 
favorable. The essential character of the services 
in question is an earnest waiting upon God for the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by a 



448 ADVANTAGES OF SPECIAL SERVICES. 

diligent employment of preaching and other instru- 
mentalities for the awakening and conversion of men. 
To whatever extent this character may be main- 
tained in Lenten and other periodical services, it may 
be conceded that they would possess an advanage 
from their regular annual occurrence — an advantage 
lost in every Church which might, during a year, 
omit extra efforts for the cause of God. On the 
other hand, serious disadvantage would arise from 
the prevalence of an idea that the intervals between 
the Christian festivals are ill-adapted to religious ac- 
tivity, or in any sense to be given up to religious 
indifference. Whether, therefore, regular or occa- 
sional, special services adapted to the awakening of 
religious zeal and the judicious employment of ex- 
traordinary effort in the cause of God, are to be 
commended. 

Some of the advantages which they contemplate 
may be thus stated : 

1. They become to Christians an opportunity of 
united prayer for the help of God, and of combined 
action for the welfare of men. 

2. They accustom Christians to the more active 
discharge of their personal and public duties, and thus 
increase the moral power of the Church. 

3. They secure opportunities for the continued and 
pointed application of truth to the hearts of those 
who can be induced to hear. 

4. They afford to persons desirous to escape from 
the power of sinful habits and associations the offered 
help and sympathy of persons who have experienced 
deliverance from a similar bondage of corruption, 



THEIR ADAPTATIONS. 449 

and also the opportunity of concentrated continuous 
thought upon eternal objects. 

5. They are in accordance with the supreme im- 
portance of the soul's interests, and with a just con- 
ception of the shortness of hfe and the nearness of 
eternity. 

6. They have a tendency to remove out of the way 
of the unconverted various embarrassments which, 
in other circumstances, hinder their reception and 
practice of the truth. 

7. They greatly facilitate decision for God and 
the practice of Christian duties by the influence of 
example, and what is best and most necessary of all, 
the prevailing aid of the Divine Spirit. 

In order to realize these and other like advantages, 
special religious services of every kind should be so 
conducted that their moral and religious influence 
should not be spasmodic but permanent ; not likely 
to terminate with the period of special effort, but to 
be transferred forward into the life of Christians and 
of the Church with ever-accumulating power. 

B. Camp-Meetings. Camp-meetings originated prov- 
identially about the beginning of the present century, 
in Kentucky. They were wonderfully blessed as re- 
vival agencies from the first, and were soon found to 
be peculiarly adapted to meet the religious necessities 
of the great western frontier of the United States, 
then, for the first, becoming occupied with settlers. 
KX. that period, throughout the vast regions beyond 
the Alleghany Mountains, the population being sparse, 
and churches few and small, the only mode of con- 
vening large assemblies was to appoint a meeting in 

38 



450 ORIGINAL CAMP-MEETINGS. 

some central locality, where the people could come 
from long distances and remain several days. Of 
course they had to come by private conveyances, and 
to bring with them conveniences for shelter and sub- 
sistence, while they should avail themselves of the 
quiet of some pleasant grove for their open-air meet- 
ings. Having left home and cares behind, Christian 
people found these gatherings favorable to mutual ac- 
quaintance and the mingling of religious sympathies, 
as well as to special efforts in behalf of the uncon- 
verted, who, from curiosity and other motives, came 
in great numbers. To multitudes, who for months 
or years had been secluded from the privileges of 
regular worship, these occasions afforded opportuni- 
ties of hearing awakening and instructive sermons, 
of renewing their vows, or of commencing a religious 
life. Such experiences were what they most of all 
needed, and, having been secured, their possessors 
could return home prepared to exert a happy and 
permanent Christian influence in their several neigh- 
borhoods. 

Camp-meetings were originally participated in by 
Presbyterians as freely as by Methodists. But in 
subsequent years they were chiefly continued by the 
latter. The revivals that followed those meetings in 
the West caused them to be adopted in older por- 
tions of the country. From Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee they were introduced into Virginia and other 
Atlantic States^ and thenceforward became a recog- 
nized and powerful agency of evangelization in nearly 
every part of the American Union. When properly 
organized and conducted, camp-meetings combine all 



AN INSTANCE. 45 I 

the advantages of protracted meetings, and even in- 
tensify them by uninterrupted continuity throughout 
successive days. The following brief description 
of a meeting held in Virginia, in 1803, illustrates 
at once the character, objects, and results of camp- 
meetings, such as they were at first, and ever ought 
to be. It was written by Jesse Lee, of historic 
memory, who was present as a participant : 

" Every discourse and every exhortation given during the 
meeting was attended by displays of the divine power. Ahnost 
every hour and ev^ery minute was employed in the worship of 
God. A little time was spent in seeking refreshment and in 
necessary repose, but each endeavored to improve his time to 
the best advantage, and seemed satisfied only with the hidden 
manna of God's love and the living streams of his grace. More 
than a hundred living witnesses for Jesus were raised up at this 
meeting." 

Camp-meetings are obviously practicable only in 
Summer, and it used to be supposed that, following 
a dense settlement of the country and an adequate 
supply of churches, they would cease to be held. But 
events have proved them to be too important auxil- 
iaries of evangelization to be dispensed with. Indeed, 
with the recent increase of Christian zeal for promot- 
ing the religious welfare of the masses of our grow- 
ing population, by means of open-air meetings and all 
other available agencies, they have assumed a new 
importance, and prospects of permanence not known 
before. In many localities, choice grounds have been 
purchased, pleasantly fitted up, and secured in perpe- 
tuity for camp-meeting purposes. The design in such 
cases is to hold an annual assembly for religious wor- 
ship and revival services. It is obvious, that, at the 



452 PRESENT IMPORTANCE, 

present period of the history of camp-meetings, there 
is necessity for watchfuhiess against various evils that 
might mar their usefulness and future promise. On 
the one hand, they must not be allowed to degenerate 
into rustic picnics ; nor, on the other, must they be 
suffered to interfere with the sanctity of the Sabbath, 
by encouraging travel on God's holy day, or the in- 
terruption of Sunday services in the churches of their 
vicinity. At the same time, they must be prosecuted 
in the spirit of sacrifice, of humble zeal, and of de- 
vout religious activity. 

It may be assumed that every Methodist pastor will 
have an opportunity once a year to attend a camp- 
meeting, in company with considerable numbers of his 
people. This being the case, the pastor has the double 
responsibility of preparing his congregation to derive 
benefits from the meeting, and to confer benefit upon 
it. Both objects will be subserved, not only by his 
so explaining the objects as to induce a large and 
regular attendance, but also by his keeping up the 
full influence of organized Church activity on the 
ground. Without the latter there is danger that both 
the pastor and his Church members will lose their 
sense of responsibility, and become idlers instead of 
workers among the multitudes with whom they min- 
gle. For lack of suitable organization, of " wheels 
within the wheel," many camp-meetings prove at least 
comparative failures, and for a similar reason many 
Churches fail to receive special benefit from attend- 
ance upon them. Various Church organizations, har- 
moniously blended in a grand scheme of evangelical 
effort, are what is needed, and what will conduce to 






PASTORAL RESPONSIBILITIES. 453 

the highest good of all. Such sub-organizations ob- 
viously depend upon the several pastors in co-opera- 
tion with the president of the meeting. They are 
needed ahke for the general success of a camp- 
meeting as a means of throwing proper influences 
around young converts, and also for the purpose of car- 
rying back revival influences into the several Churches 
represented. The best antidote to the possible evils 
of camp-meetings is found in the presence of judi- 
cious co-operation of pastors who feel themselves re- 
s{)onsible to secure all possible spiritual benefit for the 
Churches and communities they represent. Hence 
pastors should not leave their proper fields of labor 
to attend remote camp-meetings as lookers-on, or in 
the possible expectation of being invited to preach to 
immense congregations. Rather they should go, and 
as a rule should limit their going, to meetings where 
they are wanted as workers, both out of the pulpit 
and in it, and where both they and their people can 
eflectively co-operate for the great objects in view. 
A redundancy of ministerial help at any camp-meet- 
ing is to be deprecated rather than desired, and a 
pastor who can not or will not work at such a place 
had better be attending to his work or studies at 
home. 

C. Daily prayer-meetings. Short daily meetings at. 
noon, or sometimes at other hours, for prayer and 
exhortation, have, within a few years past, proved to 
be the means and occasions of great spiritual good. 
They are most practicable in cities, and arc in most 
cities among the recognized agencies within the prov- 
ince of Young Men's Christian Associations. Never- 



454 REVIVAL FRUITS. 

theless, pastors and other ministers should take an 
interest in them, both as a means of sharing in the 
spiritual advantages they secure, and as a means of 
exerting a wholesome influence on those who attend 
them. They are subject to the various suggestions 
heretofore made in reference to prayer-meetings and 
social worship. 

III. The best means of husbanding the fruits of 
revivals. This subject is so identified with the main 
design of this whole volume that it will only require 
brief notice in this immediate connection. If noth- 
ing else were to be said, scriptural example should 
be noted as our safe and authoritative guide in refer- 
ence to it. From the sacred record we learn that 
our Savior organized his disciples into a Church, 
to which he specially confided his commands and 
instructions. Following in his steps, the apostles 
organized Churches wherever they went preaching 
the gospel. In harmony with these examples, all 
valid experience, from that day to this, prescribes a 
spiritual Church as the proper home of truly awak- 
ened and converted souls. In an important sense all 
persons recently renewed by divine grace are lambs 
of Christ's spiritual flock. As such they need to be 
gathered within the fold, and nourished and fed with 
spiritual food. In other words, persons who are the 
spiritual fruits of revival efforts need, 

1. To be sheltered and protected from worldly influ- 
ences by being enrolled as members of the Christian 
Church. 

2. They need to be carefully instructed in Christian 
truth and duty. 



DUTY OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. 455 

3. They need, under suitable guidance, to be en- 
couraged and accustomed to Christian activity, both 
in their personal, domestic, and pubHc relations. 
These several objects fall within the sphere of pas- 
toral effort, and when they receive their full measure 
of attention the fruits of revivals may be expected to 
become both permanent and self-multiplying. It is 
to be feared that this branch of ministerial duty has 
been too much overlooked, and that consequently 
many persons who have been actually converted have 
not only been lost to the Church, but have suffered 
in their own highest interests, either by leading Hves 
of spiritual feebleness, or lapsing into indifference and 
spiritual death. If in the day of eternity it should 
prove that such cases were indeed many, how serious 
would be the account of all pastors and others whose 
lack of faithfulness in duty contributed in any degree 
to so sad a result ! It is obvious that the full dis- 
charge of these duties can only be accomplished after 
the persons in question have connected themselves 
with the Church as its members. Hence it is clearly 
the duty of pastors to set before young converts the 
motives for identifying themselves with the Christian 
Church. In doing this they should rise above secta- 
rian motives, and, inasmuch as the Christian Church 
of the present day has various branches, they should 
encourage an intelligent choice in favor of that par- 
ticular branch which seems to the individual most in 
harmony with his views of truth, privilege, and duty. 
If, in acting upon this principle or otherwise, some 
withdraw from the watch-care of a pastor to whom 
they had formerly sustained relations, his work is 



456 EVANGELICAL AGGRESSION. 

ended so far as they are concerned, and his ener- 
gies are thenceforth to be devoted to those who are 
properly under his pastoral supervision, 

4. Young Christians need Church sympathy. Pas- 
tors should therefore see that all who come and can 
be retained within their influence are duly surrounded 
and strengthened by congenial and advantageous as- 
sociations. 

These and kindred objects devolve tireless efforts, 
as well as grave responsibilities, on pastors. But, as 
every true pastor will love work rather than ease, he 
will only ask for an opportunity and a system of work 
well adapted to the ends in view. At this point a 
question of great practical importance is encountered. 
Does the system explained and advocated in these 
pages contain or lack the elements of a high degree 
of pastoral success.? The latter has often been as- 
serted, even by those who have professed great admi- 
ration for Methodism as an evangelical power. One 
of the ablest critics of "Wesley and Methodism"* 
has characterized the latter as "a scheme of evan- 
gelical aggression" that "has proved itself hith- 
erto the most efficiently expansive Christian institute 
which modern times have seen." The same author 
justly attributes its "unexampled success" to its 
"unity of intention" and to its "steady pursuit 
OF A GREAT PRINCIPLE." He also coucedcs that "as 
a Church system it has the great and commanding 
merit of embodying the evangelic impulse as its one 
law and reason."! Nevertheless, the same author, 
while admitting that the itinerancy of Methodism is 

* Isaac Taylor. fPp. 201 and 202. 



METHODISM AND THE PASTORATE. 457 

a very important agency of its power of evangelic 
aggression, confidently asserts that it can not furnish 
pastors. A portion of his language is this : " It is 
not within the range of possibility that Christian em- 
inence of this species [the pastoral] can be nurtured 
or can find its field of exercise under the stern and 
ungenial conditions of an itinerant ministry."* He 
even speaks of Wesleyanism as "destitute of pastors," 
although, being vigorously worked, it may "find an 
equivalent among its other provisions." 

The proper reply to such assertions is that the 
author knew not whereof he affirmed. At least he 
very imperfectly comprehended many topics concern- 
ing which he wrote with the most self-satisfied dog- 
matism. Of the English Methodism of his own day 
he had only the most narrow and distorted concep- 
tions, while of American Methodism he was wholly 
ignorant. If he had charged that both in England 
and America many ministers connected with this 
recognized scheme of evangelic aggression had failed 
to appreciate the full importance of the pastoral work, 
and that some of them had accepted the opinions of 
opponents of their system to the effect that thorough 
pastoral work can not be done by itinerant ministers, 
his statements could not have been denied. Nor can 
it be denied that to whatever extent such views have 
been accepted the Church has suffered, and ministers 
have formed habits prejudicial to their own largest 
success. But the imperfect comprehension or the 
incomplete employment of a system does not nec- 
essarily prove any defectiveness of the system itself. 

*Page 124. 
39 



458 ESSENTIAL UNION. 

Indeed, it is easy to show to any unprejudiced mind 
that the system of itinerancy, as now developed and 
improved by experience, is as free from essential dif- 
ficulties in reference to an efficient pastorate as any 
other practicable system of ministerial supply. 

The great thing needed is for ministers to under- 
stand thoroughly and improve diligently the opportu- 
nities secured by the system as we have it. In doing 
so, pastors will strive to maintain a just balance be- 
tween active and judicious revival measures and that 
diligent oversight and faithful instruction by which 
the good results of revivals are made a permanent 
blessing both to their subjects and to the Church, 
Such efforts will doubtless continue to prove what 
the experience of Methodist and other evangelical 
Churches has often demonstrated, namely, that gen- 
uine revivals of religion depend on no human instru- 
mentality more than on that thorough organization 
and general Christian activity which are impossible 
without efficient pastoral administration, while to the 
latter agency, inclusive of instructive preaching, we 
must ever look for the most abiding fruits of revivals. 



CHRISTIANITY SOCIAL. 459 



CHAPTER XVL 

PASTORAL VISITING. 

CHRISTIANITY is an eminently social religion. 
Exclusiveness and non-intercourse are out of 
harmony with its precepts of love and kindness. 
But the sociality it enjoins is not to be cultivated 
merely for the sake of mutual enjoyment. It is also 
to be consecrated to the promotion of the highest 
religious advantage. This is true in all the rela- 
tions mutually sustained by Christians toward each 
other. It is especially true as between a pastor 
and his people. Indeed, the principle of Christian 
sociality was designed and consecrated from the be- 
ginning to be an important agency of ministerial 
influence. 

In theory the duty of a pastor to visit " from house 
to house " is universally recognized, but in practice 
it is often neglected or unsatisfactorily discharged. 
Hence, it may be justly inferred that the subject is 
not free from difficulties. Some of the difficulties 
with which it is invested may be found in unreason- 
able demands on the part of the people, and some in 
the great labor and tax of time involved in the appro- 
priate discharge of the duty, but still more in the lack 
of skill or perseverance on the part of many on whom 



460 THE PROPER OBJECTS. 

the duty devolves. It may not be possible to divest 
the subject of all its difficulties, but it is certainly de- 
sirable to throw upon it all available light as a means 
of enabling young pastors to form just views of the 
nature and importance of the duty under considera- 
tion, and right habits in reference to its discharge. 
Pastoral visiting, as a general ministerial duty, in- 
volves several elementary topics which deserve to be 
considered separately and in order. 
I. The objects to be attained. 
II. Scriptural proofs and illustrations of the duty. 

III. The best modes for accomplishing it. 

IV. Motives for its faithful discharge. 

I. The proper objects of pastoral visiting. It is too 
common for both minister and people to take narrow 
and somewhat selfish views of this subject. The 
pleasures of good society are mutually attractive, and 
the gratifications to be secured in merely social visits 
lead the people to claim and ministers to concede to 
them amounts of time quite incompatible with the 
discharge of sterner obligations. Within just limits 
there is no occasion for either party to deny them- 
selves the mutual pleasures of friendly and frequent 
association. A Christianity that does not difiiise a 
wholesome charm over society and make its possess- 
ors mutually attractive to each other, must be radically 
defective at some point. A minister of the gospel, 
however, must not content himself merely to please 
when it is possible for him to profit those with whom 
he associates. The act of pleasing may be in itself 
appropriate and a natural outflow of Christian courtesy, 
but it only assumes moral value when it attains moral 



IN REFERENCE TO THE PEOPLE. 46 1 

or spiritual results. The apostle Paul indicated at 
once the duty and its object in these words : " We 
then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of 
the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one 
of us please his neighbor for his good to edification." 
Rom. XV, I, 2. Christian usefulness may, therefore, 
be affirmed to be the grand and all-comprehensive 
object of pastoral intercourse with every class of peo- 
ple. In this view even a small degree of probable 
usefulness would justify an earnest endeavor to bene- 
fit a fellow-being ; nevertheless, only the higher degrees 
of moral and religious necessity make strong claims 
upon a minister's time and talents. "They that are 
whole need not a physician, but they that are sick," 
said the Lord Jesus. These words, so obviously true 
in reference to the physical nature, were nevertheless 
spoken to illustrate the spiritual wants of man. But 
they culminate in significance when the maladies of 
body and soul are both combined in one person, as 
they often are. Indeed, it was because this world 
was filled with the diseases and the woes consequent 
upon sin that the manifestation of a Savior was neces- 
sary, and it is because the mission of mercy on which 
Christ came into the world is not yet accomplished, 
that his servants are called to imitate their divine 
Master in his human mission of going about doing 
good. Comprehended in the one idea of Christian 
usefulness are numerous elementary and subsidiary 
objects which must receive attention in detail from 
faithful pastors. The more important of them may be 
indicated under the following classification: 

I. With reference to the people. Pastoral visiting 



462 IN REFERENCE TO THE PASTOR. 

among the families and members of a Church and con- 
gregation is necessary in order to the attainment of 
the following results : i. A personal acquaintance with 
individuals as a means of religious access to them, 
without which a high degree of influence is impossible. 
2. Opportunities of religious persuasion as addressed 
privately to the unawakened"and unbelieving. 3. Occa- 
sions of counsel to the inquiring, the penitent, and the 
tempted. 4. Occasions of encouragement to the young, 
the weak, and the halting, in the divine life. 5. Of edi- 
fication to sincere believers. 6. Of relief to the poor 
and the suffering. 7. Of consolation to the afflicted. 8. 
Of instruction and spiritual succor to the sick and dy- 
ing. If it be alleged that some of these objects can be 
attained through pulpit ministrations, it may be replied 
that some of them can not, while of those which can it 
may be affirmed that they can be more surely and more 
perfectly attained by the personal influence of a pastor 
superadded to whatever he can effect from the pulpit. 
Indeed, in the line of hopeful effort for immortal souls, 
it is impossible to do too much. We must not only sow 
beside all waters, but endeavor to reap by all means. 
But in addition to direct usefulness to others, pastoral 
visiting properly performed promises important results. 
2. WitJi refer^ence to tJie pastor himself. Some of 
those results are, essential qualifications for his work, 
difficult if not impossible to be otherwise acquired, 
such as: i. A'practical knowledge of human nature 
in its religious and irreligious aspects. 2. A particu- 
lar knowledge of the condition and moral necessities 
of his own people, and consequently, of the subjects 
and modes of address by which he may do them the 



NECESSITY OF PERSONAL INTERVIEWS. 463 

greatest good. 3. Sympathy with the trials, the difficul- 
ties, and the afflictions of those to whom he ministers. 
4. The capacity of testifying, from personal observation, 
of the adaptation of the gospel to relieve the moral 
woes of mankind and to inspire the saddest hearts 
with immortal hope. So closely are these results con- 
nected with the practical and progressive development 
of ministerial character that he who neglects them can 
never reasonably hope to be worthy of his high voca- 
tion as an under-shepherd of the flock of God. Theo- 
retic or book knowledge of humanity is little worth in 
comparison with that which comes from actual con- 
tact with men in their homes and their daily life. 
Hence, no amount of study in schools or in private, 
no completeness of Church organization, and no ex- 
tent of co-operation from the laity, can excuse a pastor 
who desires to be thoroughly furnished for his work, 
and to accomplish it faithfully, from personal inter- 
views with those to whom he would offer the gospel 
as the means of their present and eternal salvation. 
One grand reason doubtless why men and not angels 
were commissioned to preach the gospel and feed the 
flock of God was, that human sympathies might be. 
enlisted in behalf of human guilt and sorrow. He, 
therefore, who from indolence, from misconception of 
duty, or from any other cause, fails to bring himself 
into free Christian communication with his fellow- 
beings, can at least be but a theorizer instead of *' a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed." 

Experiment will soon prove to any one that pri- 
vate converse with an individual is the best, if not the 
only effectual means of comprehending his habits of 



464 PATIENT LISTENING. 

thought and peculiarities of character, and conse- 
quently of becoming able to give him just the kind 
of instruction or advice that he needs. By that means 
it may be determined what particular difficulties or 
objections most beset him, or by what particular ex- 
cuses he may be accustomed to soothe his conscience, 
some of which, perhaps, could not have been conjec- 
tured. Men's temptations and trials are often as dif- 
ferent as their countenances or their circumstances in 
life. The more, therefore, the pastor accustoms him- 
self to confer familiarly with persons representing 
different phases of character, the more clearly he will 
be able to understand the task before him, and to 
adapt truth to the varied necessities of a congrega- 
tion. Besides, it is well for ministers, in a modest 
way, to ascertain, as nearly as they can, to what ex- 
tent their teaching on important points has been 
understood and practiced. They may often be sur- 
prised to find that much of what has been listened 
to with apparent attention, has been but imperfectly 
comprehended, and still less perfectly applied in prac- 
tical life. While, therefore, no one can hope to be a 
profitable instructor in matters of the highest human 
concern who has not had, or does not have, much in- 
tercourse with his fellow-men, it is well for a pastor 
to remember that the intercourse he ought to main- 
tain with his people should not be limited to speaking 
to them on religious subjects. He should question 
them discreetly, and encourage them to speak freely 
to him. One part of his duty in this kind of inter- 
course is to listen patiently, not indeed to detraction 
or undue criticism of others, but to those various 



CHRISrS EXAMPLE. . 465 

concerns, especially of the poor and afflicted, in which 
they require sympathy. People who find a pastor 
taking a friendly interest even in their temporal wel- 
fare are more ready to speak to him and listen to him 
on religious subjects. Thus, both in private and in 
public, he may hope to do them the greater good. 
Not content with abstract reasoning on the subject, 
let us consider — 

II. Scriptural proofs and illustrations of the duty 
of pastoral visiting. 

Writers upon these subjects seem to have almost 
universally overlooked what is in reality the most 
authoritative and instructive of all proofs of the duty 
under consideration ; viz. : 

I. The example of Christ. The gospel narratives 
prove that a large proportion of the Savior's minis- 
trations when upon earth were addressed to individ- 
uals, either singly or in small groups. To guide the 
reader in duly impressing his mind with this fact, the 
following classification is made of incidents in the life 
of Christ which are at least analogous to the work of 
pastors, and by which the Lord Jesus certainly illus- 
trated his own character as the good Shepherd, in 
reference to which he said, " I know my sheep, and 
am known of mine." 

(i.) Christ called his disciples individually. 

John i, 37-52; Matt, ix, 9; Mark iii, 13. 

. (2.) Christ held conversations with individuals. 

E.g., With Nicodemus. John iii, 1-9. The Samaritan woman. 
Matt, iv, 12; John iv, 1-42. 
The nobleman, whose son was sick, John iv, 47-50. I'he 
centurion. Matt, viii, 5-10, 



466 • SPECIMEN INSTANCES. 

The widow, whose son was dead. Luke vii, 1 1. A scribe. 

Matt, viii, 19, 20. 
The Syro-Phenician woman. Matt, xv, 21-28; Mark vii, 24- 

30. The adulteress. John viii, 2-1 1. 
Parents of the lunatic. Matt, xvii, 14-21. A lawyer. Luke 

X, 25-27. 
The rich young ruler. Matt, xix, 16-22. 

(3.) Christ's miracles of healing were generally 
wrought in connection with personal interviews with 
the sufferers. 

Witness the case of the leper. Matt, viii, 2-4. The pos- 
sessed and the sick. Matt, viii, 14-17. The blind man. 
Matt, viii, 22. 

The impotent man. John v, 5-9. The man with a withered 
hand. Matt, xii, 9-14. 

The multitudes cured. Matt, xii, 15-21. The two blind men. 
Matt. XX, 29-34. 

(4.) Christ conversed with various classes of people. 

E. g., The disciples of John the Baptist. Matt, xi, 2-6. The 
Pharisees and the Herodians. Matt, xxii, 15-22. The 
Sadducees. Matt, xxii, 23-33. The Pharisees. Matt, xii, 
2-8; Matt, xix, 3-9. 

(5.) Some of Christ's most important instructions 
were given to his disciples in private conversations. 

Witness the transfiguration of the last passover. Matt, xxvi, 

20-35 ; Matt, xvii, 1-13- 
Also many other occasions. Matt, iv, 19-22 ; v, 13 ; vi, 9-15 ; 

vii, 7-1 1 ; xviii, I-35. 

(6.) Christ visited the people at their own houses. 

Instances : The wedding feast of Cana. John ii, i, 2. 

The house of Simon Peter. Matt, viii, 14; Luke iv, 38-41. 

The house of Levi the publican. Luke v, 29. 

The house of Zaccheus. Luke xix, 29. 

The houses of Pharisees. Luke vii, 36-50 ; Luke xiv, 1-24. 

The house of Mary and Martha. Luke x, 38-42 ; also, John 

xi, 1-16. 
The house of Simon the leper. Matt, xxvi, 6. 



APOSTOLIC PRACTICE. 467 

It seems just to infer that while these numerous 
incidents were embalmed in the sacred record, many- 
more of a similar character occurred that answered 
important ends, although they may have been less 
adapted to the instruction of mankind. A review of 
Christ's ministry as portrayed in the history of the 
four evangelists, shows that it was harmoniously pro- 
portioned between public and private teaching, be- 
tween addresses to multitudes and conversations with 
individuals. 

In the latter respect it fully illustrated the course 
enjoined upon his disciples, who in connection with 
the command " go, preach, saying the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand," were also further instructed in 
these words, " When ye come into a house, salute it, 
and if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon 
it ; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return unto 
you ; and whosoever shall not hear your words, when 
ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust 
of your feet." Matt, x, 6. The obvious lesson of this 
command to the disciples is that ministers are not to 
content themselves with public addresses, but are to 
seek out the people in their homes as a resort of 
greater promise with reference to their words being 
heard and heeded. 

2. The practice of the apostles. The whole company 
of the disciples following the scenes of the Pentecost 
seem to have comprehended the will of their ascended 
Lord in reference to Christian visiting and to have 
illustrated it to the extent of their ability. The fol- 
lowing record, referring to Peter and the other apos- 
tles is believed to be descriptive of their whole course 



468 PROPHETIC REPROOFS, 

of proceedings. " Daily in the temple, and in every 
house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus 
Christ." Acts v, 42. Paul, on entering the apostolate, 
learned the same lesson and practiced it with equal 
zeal. Witness his statement to the Ephesian elders, 
" You know from the first day that I came into Asia, 
after what manner I have been with you at all seasons 
. and have taught you publicly and from house 
to house." " Therefore, watch and remember that by 
the space of three years I ceased not to warn every 
one, night and day, with tears." Acts xx, 18, 20, 31. 

The apostle Paul unquestionably intended to teach 
the same duty of private pastoral labor when in his 
solemn charge to Timothy he adds to the primary 
injunction, "preach the w^ord," "be instant in season, 
out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long- 
suffering and doctrine." 2 Tim. iv, 2, 

3. TJie indirect teaching of the Scriptures. While 
various quotations might be adduced for the indirect 
illustration of the subject under consideration, it may 
be sufficient to indicate the instances of God's re- 
proofs of the unfaithful shepherds of Israel, recorded 
in the prophecy of Ezekiel. 

The prophetic figure of shepherds seeking the sheep 
that are lost by wandering or being driven away, and 
also of healing the sick and binding up the broken, 
strikingly sets forth the pastor's duty toward wan- 
derers from the fold and those who are spiritually 
diseased or broken, while the woes with which God 
avenges his neglected flock are fearfully admonitory. 

III. The best modes of accomplishing the work and 
objects of pastoral visitation. 



ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS. 469 

I. Preparation. Beyond doubt the first element of 
success in this branch of ministerial duty, consists in 
a suitable preparation on the part of a pastor himself. 
No one will accomplish much good in pastoral visit- 
ing who considers it a drudgery, or cherishes an idea 
that it is a task beneath his dignity. The first 
branch of needed preparation, therefore, is intellect- 
ual, by which the pastor's mind becomes impressed 
with the true nature and essential dignity of the work 
as set forth above, while in the second place his heart 
should become correspondingly imbued with anxious 
desires for its faithful accomplishment in such a man- 
ner as to redound to the divine glory. 

If a pastor goes forth in a careless or indifferent 
frame of mind, chiefly intent on recreation, what won- 
der if he accomplishes no spiritual result! On the 
other hand, if he goes with a heart intent on doing the 
Master's will, and with a predominant desire to win 
souls, it will be wonderful indeed if he wholly fails. 

Meditation and prayer are also important elements 
of the required preparation. The motto " Go from 
your knees to the pulpit," supposed to be familiar to 
ministers who aim to preach not themselves, but 
Christ Jesus the Lord, is equally applicable to this 
duty. The pastor who goes from his closet to the 
houses and workshops of his people will carry with 
him a holy atmosphere, and exert a saving influence 
upon those to whom he may speak. 

It is moreover to be expected that, in this as in other 
departments of usefulness, practice will conduce to im- 
provement. Hence the pastor should hope by means 
of continued effort, observation, and reflection to con- 



470 APPOINTMENTS WITH FAMILIES. 

tinually increase his capacity for winning and impress- 
ive Christian conversation. 

2. Systematic attention to the duty. Occasional or 
fitful efforts m.ay accomplish something, but compre- 
hensively planned measures perseveringly sustained 
are necessary to any great success. A proper system 
of pastoral visiting involves points already suggested 
in other connections, such as : 

(i.) A due allotment of time. 

(2.) A proper districting of the field. 

To these may be added, in some cases : 

(3.) Special appointments with certain families. 

By this arrangement time is saved to both parties 
and the convenience of all greatly promoted. A pas- 
tor often loses an afternoon by not finding at home the 
families he had expected to visit, a circumstance which 
the families may regret as much as he. A pastor of 
wisdom and experience said : 

"When I was pastor of the Church in F., and also in P., I 
.often announced from the desk on the Sabbath that I should 
visit such and such families on Tuesday, and others on Wednes- 
day, on Thursday, and so on from Sabbath to Sabbath ; and I 
found it preferable to any other method I could adopt. Gener- 
ally they would make their arrangements to be at home ; whereas 
when I called without giving notice, some members of almost 
every family would be absent, and, of course, lose the visit. 
Were I to return to the pastoral care, I think I should make 
my appointments publicly, and for/another reason besides the 
one just offered. If you were to spend half your time in going 
from house to house, without saying any thing about it, it would 
take you so long to visit all that many would think you very re- 
miss in this branch of pastoral duty. But when, from week to 
week, you publicly set apart several days, or half days, for visit- 
ing, and name the families to be called on, it teaches those 
who are most apt to complain of neglect two things ; That you 



DISTINCTION BETWEEN CALLS AND VISITS. 47 1 

do spend a great deal more time than they had supposed, and 
that it takes much longer to get round." * 

It may be added that it is easier to make a pas- 
toral visit what it ought to be when such a visit is 
expected than when an unexpected call finds no one 
prepared to receive it, and, perhaps, many greatly 
mortified at the circumstances in which they are 
found. Hence, due distinction should be made be- 
tween pastoral visits and mere calls, which ought, by 
no means, to be omitted. Sometimes, the latter are 
all that a minister's time will allow, and sometimes 
all that the circumstances will admit. Nevertheless, 
a brief call may prepare the way for a visit, and if 
used to the best advantage may not seldom accom- 
plish important results in itself. Still, no pastor 
should be content without securing, from time to 
time, opportunities for thorough religious conversa- 
tion with the various members of his Church and 
congregation, whether parents, children, or servants, 
young or old, rich or poor. Such conversation is 
usually most profitable when individuals can be 
isolated, rather than spoken to in each other's pres- 
ence. A proper pastoral visit should be closed with 
prayer suited to the conditions of the several mem- 
bers of the family, and any other persons present. 
Even in making calls prayer will often be appropriate, 
but so solemn an exercise should not be conducted 
with undue haste or in a bustling, business-like man- 
ner. Pastors should guard against the temptation of 
compromising between calls and visits, or of making 
the former answer instead of the latter, and yet they 

* Dr. Humphrey's Letters to a Son in the Ministry. 



472 CLAIMS OF THE SICK, 

should never yield to the importunity of unthinking 
people who claim large portions of their time as 
essential to satisfactory visits. It is sinful to waste 
time even in a good work, and pertinent explanations 
will readily convince well-intentioned persons of the 
propriety of ministers spending " no more time in 
any place than is strictly necessary." While the 
above is a fitting motto for all pastors, it should not 
be construed so as to countenance the petty ambition 
of making, and possibly reporting, a great number of 
pastoral calls or visits in a given time. So important 
a work deserves to be well and " conscientiously done 
whatever form of doing it may be dictated by circum- 
stances. At this point, a pastor should cultivate a 
keen sense of propriety, and not only acquire the art 
of adapting the length and form of his visits to cir- 
cumstances, but also of making the most unlooked-for 
circumstances contribute, in some way, to the objects 
he has in view. 

(4.) Special attentions to the sick, the afflicted, and 
the needy. 

Christianity fully recognizes the connection subsist- 
ing between the souls and bodies of men. For the 
latter, therefore, it has blessings, reliefs, and consola- 
tions. It even rises to the design of making bodily 
suffering tributary to the spiritual profit of the suf- 
ferer. This was indicated not only in the multiplied 
examples in which our Savior mingled healing with 
religious teaching, but also in his precepts to his dis- 
ciples, upon whom, from the first, he enjoined atten- 
tion to the sick.* In one of his most impressive 

* Vide Matt, x, 8; Luke ix, 2 ; x, 9. 



THE PRECEPT OF JAMES. 473 

discourses, his portraiture of the final judgment,* our 
blessed Lord seems actually to assume the sicknesses 
and sorrows of humanity as his own, and to encour- 
age his followers who visit the sick as doing acts of 
kindness which, at the last day, he will accredit as 
done to himself " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto 
me." So long as miraculous endowments were re- 
tained in the Church the healing of the sick was the 
favorite mode of their exercise. When miracles had 
ceased, or were about to cease, the pastoral duty of 
visiting and praying for the sick was elevated into 
special prominence by an apostolic command which 
enjoined upon the people the duty of sending for 
their ministers, and upon the elders the duty of pray- 
ing and administering for the healing of their bodies, 
but with a chief reference to the forgiveness of their 
sins.f The glaring perversion of the passage last 
referred to by which Romanists strive to make it 
countenance the pretended sacrament of extreme 
unction, has caused its language to be less regarded 
than it ought to be, and its real significance to be 
overlooked by many. A true interpretation enables 
us to understand that the anointing with oil, so far 
from being a ceremony designed to benefit the soul 
of the dying, was a sanitary measure common in 
Palestine for the relief and restoration of the body, 
and, consequently, representative of physical treat- 
ment generally. The fact that this anointing was 
to be in the name of the Lord, so far from being 
talismanic or of the nature of a charm, it was simply 

*Matt. XXV, 31-46. t James v, 14,15. 

40 



474 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. 

to be put on the level of other Christian duties, in 
accordance with the precept of Paul, "whatsoever ye 
do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord 
Jesus." Col. iii, 17. In the command of James, 
therefore, we have the two elements of, first, physical 
treatment, and, second, the prayer of faith prescribed 
in behalf of the sick, both distinct from miraculous 
interposition — on which Christians might have been 
too prone to rely — and both designed to remain in the 
Church with a special bearing upon the spiritual in- 
terests of those in danger of death, namely, the for- 
giveness of their sins. 

Recognizing, therefore, the special sympathy to 
which the sick and afflicted are entitled, the pastor, 
in addition to his general list of members and families 
that ought to be visited in turn, should keep another 
list of those requiring special and frequent attention 
by reason of sickness or calamity. Persons in health 
will not object to delays in visits due them if caused 
by occupation with the sick or suffering, for whom it 
is often " now or never," that the pastor must act. 
In a merely rehgious point of view, the treatment of 
the sick does not differ materially from that of the 
well. Whatever is different consists, chiefly, in adapt- 
ation to the changed circumstances. Whoever wouM 
lead dying men to the Savior, and aid them to pre- 
pare, effectually, for a change of worlds, whether he 
finds them in health or sickness, should possess and 
cultivate the following traits of character : 

I. Clear discernment in determining the character 
and moral states of those with whom he may visit 
on sick-beds. 



BRE VITY— FAITHFULNESS. 47 5 

2. The power of eliciting frank expressions of their 
feehngs, fears, and hopes. 

3. A tenderness and persuasiveness of manner 
which will inspire confidence and attachment. 

4. A capacity to remove from their minds any de- 
lusions they may be cherishing, and to portray, in 
brief, but clear and impressive utterances, the essen- 
tial truths they need to understand and feel. 

5. A felicitous manner of presenting encourage- 
ments to the tempted, hope to the despairing, and 
consolation to the desponding. Pain, grief, and appre- 
hension assume manifold aspects. Their primary in- 
fluence usually is to soften the heart and alarm the 
fears of the sufferer. But they often become so ab- 
sorbing and controlling, as to render it difficult to 
govern thought and contemplate fixedly the great 
object of the sinner's hope. Hence, prompt and fre- 
quent attention to the sick, on the part of pastors, 
is better than protracted calls. For many reasons, 
brevity should be the rule of visits to the sick, 
unless in very peculiar circumstances. In all circum- 
stances, quick observation and thoughtful considera- 
tion of the condition of patients and the families in 
which they are found need to be exercised. 

Pastors may count themselves happy when their 
efforts are aided, and not thwarted, by the friends, 
attendants, and even physicians of the sick. While 
among the former there is often an entire lack of 
sympathy with the pastor's objects, the latter fre- 
quently carry professional jealousy or personal oppo- 
sition to an embarrassing extreme. Regarding all 
ideas of death, or even of danger, unfriendly to a 



4/6 FAITHFULNESS. 



1 

:er- \\ 



patient's recovery, they sometimes interdict inter 
views which they think will have any tendency to 
excite alarm. Owing to the false hopes encouraged 
by their physicians, how many poor souls have been 
overtaken by death before they were allowed to know 
they were in serious danger! While it would be un- 
wise, and even wrong, for ministers to excite undue 
alarms in the mind of a patient, they certainly must 
be faithful ; and as the interests they represent are of 
greater importance than even the life of the body, 
they are entitled, in a wise and considerate man- 
ner, to claim their proper rights and position by the 
bedside of their afflicted members. When sent- for 
by others they can be equally faithful, according to 
the opportunities afforded them, although less free 
to claim the prerogatives of a recognized pastor. 
Whatever obstacles or oppositions may arise will usu- 
ally yield to discreet and earnest Christian address 
where there is obviously a single motive to benefit 
the sufferer. In such cases all apprehensions of in- 
jury to patients from pastoral visits will usually be 
dispelled, as it will be found that nothing is more 
conducive to the restoration of health than that con- 
sciousness of the divine favor and of a preparation to 
die which it is the object of a Christian minister to 
secure. But, where even discreet and earnest efforts 
fail to accomplish the desired object in behalf of the 
sick and the suffering, he who puts them forth will 
have the satisfaction of having discharged his respon- 
sibility in the attempt to fulfill his sacred mission. 

But, while ministers should endeavor to discharge 
their whole personal duty in the matter of visiting 



WESLEY'S PRECEPTS AND EXAMPLES. ^^y 

the sick, they should not think of monopolizing that 
duty so as to render it unnecessary for their lay help- 
ers to participate in it. On the contrary, they should 
enlist the active co-operation of their people by taking 
different persons in their company from time to time, 
and also by imitating the example of Mr. Wesley* 
in preaching upon the subject, and endeavoring to 
awaken in all a desire to do good unto all men as 
they have opportunity. 

Often in a pastor's visits to the sick and the poor 
he will become acquainted with circum- 
stances of suffering which imperatively 
demand relief While every pastor ought to be char- 
itable, and to esteem it a privilege to give to the 
poor to the extent of his ability, yet no one can be 
expected to be able personally to relieve all the phys- 
ical necessities of a congregation or a community. 
But, even if he could, it would be wrong for him 
to monopolize a duty which the great Head of the 
Church has devolved upon all its members in their 
proper measure. It is essentially important, there- 
fore, that every pastor should co-operate with his 
congregation in raising funds for this object, and that 

*See Wesley's Sermon CIII, on visiting the sick, Works, Vol. II, p. 
329. The sermon, besides explaining and enforcing the duty, contains 
an excellent manual of directions for its discharge. Mr. Wesley, at the 
age of seventy-one, was personally active in the discharge of the duties 
he enjoined upon others. In January, 1774, after having l)een detained 
some days in London by a surgical operation, he made this record in 
his journal : 

'"'■Tues. 12. — I began at the east end of the town to visit the society 
from house to house. I know no branch of the pastoral oflice which 
is of greater importance than this. But it is so grievous to llesh and 
blood that I can prevail on few even of our preachers to undertake it." 



478 PERSONAL DEFICIENCIES. 

he have arrangements with the proper officers of his 
Church by which he can draw at discretion upon the 
funds provided or secure their immediate co-operation 
in affording the needed assistance. In cities, and, in- 
deed, wherever necessity requires, thorough and sys- 
tematic arrangements should be made for reheving 
the wants of the afflicted. 

Important as these duties are conceded to be, some 
ministers are greatly embarrassed and sometimes hin- 
dered in their discharge by feelings of diffidence. 
Diffidence in a young man, so far from being a misfor- 
tune, may actually add a charm to his manner which 
the naturally forward can never acquire. Hence, 
whatever embarrassments arise from that cause may 
therefore be expected to yield to determination and 
practice. If, moreover, a feeling of natural diffidence 
leads the young pastor to study carefully the best 
modes of interesting people of various classes and 
characters in sacred things, and also to form habits 
of system and persevering effort, he will be far more 
likely to succeed than one who enters upon the work 
with too much self-confidence and too little apprecia- 
tion of its real difficulties. To be able to offer the 
gospel effectively to individuals and families at their 
own homes and places of resort, is a great and happy 
art, and one not to be acquired without both consid- 
eration and effort. Mere talkativeness, so far from 
answering the desired end, sometimes defeats it. A 
pastor who wishes to be heard himself must be capable 
of listening patiently to others, as w^ell as of educing 
expression from those to whom he would speak. Dis- 
crimination in religious address is essential to moral 



EXTERNAL OBSTACLES, 479 

influence, and the power of leading others out in frank 
and honest utterances is essential to its successful 
exercise. 

The external difficulties which embarrass pastoral 
visiting differ greatly with circumstances. In some 
places the population is greatly scattered. In other 
places great numbers of persons are inaccessible at 
convenient hours on account of their occupations ; 
while not seldom, prevailing immorality and indiffer- 
ence to religion is worst of all. But as it is the busi- 
ness of a pastor to overcome moral obstacles of every 
kind, their existence in any unusual form should only 
nerve him to greater effort, and inspire in him a more 
confiding trust in God for needed help. 

IV. Motives for faithfulness in pastoral visiting. 

1. It is essential to full proof of the power and in- 
fluence of the Christian ministry. 

2. Faithfulness in pastoral visiting tends to increase 
a minister's congregations. " A house-going minister 
makes a church-going people." 

3. Pastoral visiting enlarges a pastor's personal in- 
fluence, and creates a bond of sympathy between him 
and the community to which he ministers. 

4. It is the essential complement of faithful preach- 
ing. To accompHsh an apostolic ministry, we must 
teach "publicly and from house to house." 

5. Pastoral visiting properly performed conduces to 
the promotion, the continuance, and the success of 
revivals of religion. 

To do the work of pastoral visiting as described in 
this chapter, requires labor indeed, but it is a labor of 
love, and one that brings the Christian minister more 



480 MOTIVES FOR FAITHFULNESS. 

closely into sympathy with his divine Master than 
any other. Say not that it will exhaust his time and 
strength, so as to unfit him for preaching eloquently. 
As heretofore suggested, it is one of the best methods 
of preparation for preaching — that which touching the 
preacher's own heart enables him to touch the hearts 
of others. Besides, it is by such, and only by such, 
faithful diligence that a pastor may attain the highest 
phase of ministerial influence, that in which he will be 
recognized as the spiritual father of his people. 



CLERICAL DEGRADATION, 48 1 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE PASTOR IN SOCIETY. 

IT is of design that the present subject is treated 
distinctly from that of the preceding chapter. 
While visiting from house to house with definite re- 
ligious objects in view is a primary and continual 
duty of a Christian pastor, it is not his only duty. He 
should recognize himself and be recognized by others 
as a member of society. In this relation society has 
claims upon him. By discharging those claims in a 
proper manner he may not only win respect but influ- 
ence, and thus contribute directly to the highest objects 
of his ministry. 

.In Macaulay's History of England the reader may 
find a painful exhibit of the extreme degradation to 
which the country clergy of the Church of England 
were reduced only about two centuries ago. The 
graphic sketches of the historian* show clearly the 
contempt into which religion was brought through the 

* " The clergy were regarded as, on the whole, a plebeian class ; and 
indeed, for one who made the figure of a gentleman, ten were mere 
menial servants." The coarse and ignorant squire, who thought it be- 
longed to his dignity to have grace said every day at his table by an 
ecclesiastic in full canonicals, found means to reconcile dignity with 
economy. A young Levite — such was the phrase then in use — might 
be had for his board, a small garret, and ten pounds a year, and might 
not only perform his own professional functions, might not only be the 
most patient of butts and of listeners, might not only be always ready in 

41 



482 MEN OF LEARNING AND TALENT. 

ignorance and social ostracism of those who even nom- 
inally bore the sacred office. They also show how 
imperfectly the Reformation had done its work in 
England a century and a half subsequent to the days 
of Luther; nevertheless, by the contrast they draw 
to the present position of the Protestant clergy in En- 
gland and America, they strikingly illustrate what has 
since been accomplished by an increase of knowledge 
and piety in elevating ministers as a class to a position 
from which they can exert a proper influence. 

Indeed, at the very period to which reference is 
made, examples were not wanting of clergymen who 
overcame the disabilities to which the majority of their 
brethren were subject. Macaulay himself says: 

" Assuredly there was at that time no lack in the English 
Church of ministers distinguished by abilities and learning. But 
it is to be observed that these ministers were not scattered 
among the rural population. They were brought together at a 
few places where the means of acquiring knowledge were 
abundant, and where the opportunities of vigorous intellectual 
exercise were frequent. These eminent men were to be found 
with scarce a single exception, at the universities, at the great 
cathedrals, or in the capital." 

Without pausing to discuss the agencies by which 
the character and influence of the country clergy of 

fine weather for bowls, and in rainy weather for shovel-board, but 
also save the expense of a gardener or of a groom. Sometimes the rever- 
end man nailed up the apricots, and sometimes he curried the coach- 
horses. He cast up the farrier's bills. He walked ten miles with a 
message or a parcel. If he was permitted to dine with the family, he 
was expected to content himself with the plainest fare. He might fill 
himself with the corned beef and carrots ; but, as soon as the tarts 
and cheese-cakes made their appearance, he quitted his seat, and stood 
aloof till he was summoned to return thanks for the repast, from a 
great part of which he had been excluded. See Macaulay's History 
of England, Vol. I, p. 304. 



THE CLERGY OF AMERICA. 483 

England became improved, it may be remarked that 
in the United States of America, more than in any 
other comitry, a fair opportunity has been afforded to 
ministers of the gospel to win and occupy their proper 
position in society. That they have done this to a 
creditable extent, was forcibly and eloquently shown 
by Daniel Webster in his argument of the Girard Will 
Case before the Supreme Court of the United States 
in 1844. The following is a brief extract of that cel- 
ebrated plea : 

" I take it upon myself to say that in no country in the world, 
upon either continent, can there be found a body of ministers of 
the gospel who perform so much service to man, in such a full 
spirit of self-denial, under so little encouragement from govern- 
ment of any kind, and under circumstances almost always much 
straitened and distressed, as the ministers of the gospel in the 
United States, of all denominations. They form no part of any 
estabhshed order of religion, they constitute no hierarchy, they 

enjoy no peculiar privileges They have to depend 

entirely on the voluntary contributions of those that hear them. 
And this body of clergymen has shown, to the honor of their 
own country and to the astonishment of the hierarchies of the 
old world, that it is practicable in free governments to raise and 
sustain by voluntary contributions alone, a body of clergymen 
which for their devotedness to their sacred calling, for purity of 
life and character, for learning, intelligence, piety, and that wis- 
dom which Cometh from above, is inferior to none, and supe- 
rior to most others I contend that no literary 

efforts, no adjudications, no constitutional discussions, nothing 
that has been said or done in favor of the great interests of 
universal man, has done this country more credit at home and 
abroad than the establishment of our body of clergymen, their 
support by voluntary contributions, and the general excellence 
of their character for piety and learning." 

This unsolicited tribute to the intelligence and worth 
of the American clergy indicates that even worldly 



484 SOCIETY— DIFFERENT PHASES. 

men are not slow to recognize the real benefactors of 
society. The American statesman, not less than the 
English historian, regards learning and piety in min- 
isters as qualities which, independent of wealth or pre- 
ferment, are sure to win for them the respect and 
even honor of their fellow-men. Let it therefore be 
accepted as an established principle that upon minis- 
ters themselves depends very much, if not wholly, the 
position they are to occupy, and the influence they 
are to exert in society. The term society is here used 
in its broadest and best sense, as including that com- 
munity of people who reside in any given place or 
region, and apart from those factitious distinctions by 
which any smaller number of persons may arrogate 
to themselves the pretense of being society par ex- 
cellence, on the ground of their seeking to lead, or 
consenting to be led, in the routine of fashionable en- 
tertainments. There will, indeed, always be more or 
less of subdivision and class association in any large 
community. Hence the distinctions of fashionable 
society, literary society, and religious society, which 
are usually recognized, and to which a minister can 
not be indifferent. It is obvious that a Christian pas- 
tor should neither seek nor accept that society which 
assembles for purposes of gayety, frivolity, or amuse- 
ment, however he may seek to benefit the individuals 
who may frequent such society. He should, how- 
ever, be at home, desired and honored, in the society 
of the intelligent, thoughtful, and moral ; in short, in 
every form of strictly good society. By mingling occa- 
sionally in appropriate social assemblies a pastor may, 
without loss of time, secure the necessary relaxation 



POSITION OF A CLERGYMAN. 485 

from the confinement of study, and the toil of visiting 
the afflicted. Nevertheless, even the best and most 
agreeable society should not be indulged in exclu- 
sively for the exhilaration and enjoyment it may afford, 
but as furnishing opportunities of doing good. 

In every species of association with his fellow-men 
it is the place of a Christian pastor to be an intelli- 
gent leader of conversation. Some men, by their hab- 
its of taciturnity or reserve, make their presence in 
any company a burden. Others, by their garrulity, 
become even a greater burden. Between all such ex- 
tremes there is a golden mean for the pastor. He, 
knowing when to speak and when to listen, should 
seize suitable opportunities for introducing appropri- 
ate and interesting topics for remark or discussion, 
and thus promote the gratification or instruction of 
all participating. When conversation on any theme - 
lags or becomes unprofitable, he should be adroit to 
change it to other subjects, by which a suitable va- 
riety and a lively interest may be maintained. 

The presence of a Christian minister in any social 
circle should not be without a wholesome effect upon 
all the proprieties of the occasion. While it should . 
not restrain, but rather promote cheerfulness, it should 
prevent undue levity and whatever might tend to waste 
time, enfeeble thought, corrupt the imagination, or con- 
taminate morals. While no family entitled to respect 
would invite a Christian minister to be present in any 
assembly in which dancing, card-playing, or amuse- 
ment's of that character were contemplated, so any 
minister who respects himself should promptly with- 
draw from any scene in which by inadvertence, col- 



486 INFLUENCE UPON CONVERSATION, 

lusion, or other cause, such amusements might be 
introduced. 

Whoever would influence others must walk circum- 
spectly himself, and he who will be every-where ex- 
pected to illustrate the proprieties of a religious life 
and conversation must avoid being made the append- 
age of ceremonies or being placed in any position in 
which he will seem to countenance what in reality 
he does not approve. More than this, a pastor should 
not in any company content himself with mere nega- 
tive influence, but should be on the alert to speak 
words in season to one and another, that may in- 
duce thoughtfulness, self-examination, or inquiries after 
truth. In this way he may illustrate what George 
Herbert calls keeping God's watch. That author's 
words on the subject still deserve to be read with 
attention : 

"THE PARSON IN SENTINEL." 

" The parson, wherever he is, keeps God's watch ; that is, there 
is nothing spoken or done in the company where he is, but comes 
under his test and censure. If it be well spoken or done, he takes 
occasion to commend and enlarge it. If ill, he presently lays 
hold of it, lest the poison steal into some young and unwary 
spirits and possess them even before they themselves heed it. 
But this he doth discreetly, with mollifying and suppling words : 
This was not so well said as it might have been forborne ; we 
can not allow this ; or else, if the thing will admit interpretation, 
your meaning is not thus, but thus ; or, so far, indeed, what you 
say is true and well said, but this will not stand. This is called 
keeping God's watch, when the baits which the enemy lays in 
company are discovered and avoided ; this is to be on God's 
side, and be true to his party." 

From every view of the case it becomes apparent 
that pastors need to cultivate conversational ability as 



CONVERSATIONAL ABILITY. 487 

a talent of the greatest value in properly sustaining 
their social relations, and in always being prepared to 
maintain the supremacy of truth and a happy personal 
influence in the midst of whatever rivalry, surprises, 
or opposition may arise. Let them not be discour- 
aged if this can not be done at once, nor indeed, if 
they become conscious of repeated failures. It is an 
object worthy of studious consideration, of special 
preparation, and of continued and persevering eflbrt. 
It would seem that no one who had taken ordinary 
pains to qualify himself for public speaking by ac- 
quiring knowledge and the capacities of thought and 
expression, ought to be in the slightest degree em- 
barrassed in conversation. Yet there is something 
in the individuality and the immediate nearness of 
persons familiarly spoken to, in the reciprocal gaze of 
the eye, and in direct repartee, that may sometimes 
confuse the mind and agitate the feelings more than 
the presence of a congregation, where the speaker 
hears only his own voice. 

Yet, who that has mingled in society from child- 
hood has not learned to converse } In fact, it may be 
assumed that conversation is natural. Embarrass- 
ment is artificial. Yet, if a young man has for a long 
time excluded himself from society, as during his pe- 
riod of study, his embarrassment may be not only 
real, but painful on resuming association with pro- 
miscuous companies, and especially on assuming the 
responsibilities of a new and public character. In 
such cases there is an obvious necessity for re-educa- 
tion in this elementary function of human life and 
duty. At this period in a minister's history, what- 



488 CLERICAL MANNERS. 

ever may have been his previous advantages or lack 
of advantages, the subject of clerical manners may 
properly claim his attention. This subject is closely 
allied with that of conversation. Neither of them 
ought to be considered difficult. Yet to become able 
to converse well in all circumstances, and to acquire 
that perfection and refinement of manners which will 
render a clergyman acceptable and influential in the 
best society, will require close observation of good 
models and of prevailing customs, together with a 
thoughtful application of his knowledge and common 
sense to all his words and actions. Books are not 
wanting which discuss with more or less minuteness 
the subject of parlor or table etiquette, and the various 
faults which offend against propriety and gentility. 
As a safeguard against possible mistakes, it is not 
amiss for ministers to read, or at least glance through, 
such books. But no minister should ever think of 
governing his manners by artificial rules. A truer 
gentility may be attained by the simple, and conscien- 
tious embodiment in all his words and actions of the 
great principles of Christian propriety, such as kind- 
ness, gentleness, condescension, forbearance, and a 
desire to respect the feelings and promote the welfare 
of others. Any case of doubt as to their application 
can usually be solved by the golden rule. As the 
principles referred to ought to govern a minister's 
thoughts and actions under all circumstances, so any 
violation of them is nearly as great a breach of minor 
morals as it is of manners. Hence it is that selfish- 
ness in all its forms, open indulgence, or fondness for 
indulgences of the appetite, the use of tobacco or other 



OFFENSIVE TRAITS. 489 

narcotics and stimulants, ungainly attitudes, lounging 
habits, cant expressions, and in short, words or deeds 
of any kind incompatible with the highest purity of 
person or dignity of character, are peculiarly offensive 
in a professed minister of the gospel. 

It may be added that clergymen should not be 
over-sensitive. While ready to accord to others all 
that true courtesy would prompt, they should not be 
exacting of either ceremony or respect from others. 
Especially toward persons of small opportunities of 
knowing what courtesy requires, they should construe 
conduct on the principle of the broadest charity. 

In addition to all, they should hold themselves ready 
and even pleased to receive hints concerning any mis- 
takes they have made or to which they are accus- 
tomed, and all suggestions by which they may im- 
prove their manners or increase their usefulness, 
whether in private or in public. 

Young ministers should not be unaware that much 
of the consideration shown them in society is on ac- 
count of their public, religious character and their 
official relations to the Church. 

Hence they should not only be on their guard 
against flattery, but should feel bound to maintain, 
in every possible form, the credit of the Church and 
the honor of that religion which they are expected to 
represent. They should understand, moreover, that 
the freedom with which they are admitted into fami- 
lies and society is, in a large degree, confidential, and 
based on the general respect which the Protestant 
clergy of America have won for themselves and their 
class by exemplary conduct and religious fidelity. 



490 SACREDNESS OF PASTORAL RELATIONS. 

This circumstance devolves corresponding obligations 
upon pastors who should ever consider themselves 
bound to preserve inviolate and inviolable the com- 
munications which are made to them in their offi- 
cial capacity. It is in this capacity that they are wel- 
comed to the most sacred intimacies of individuals 
and families in all grades of society, and it is equally 
for their personal credit and usefulness and for the 
continued esteem of the sacred profession that they 
scrupulously honor whatever confidence is reposed in 
them. When properly instituted and maintained, the 
relations between a pastor and the families of his flock 
become hallowed by the most endearing ties. To them 
as to the heirs of Christ's kingdom and subjects of his 
own special solicitude, his own heart is drawn forth 
in pure affection, while on their part his disinterested 
friendship, his inteUigent and faithful advice, and the 
happy influence he is able to exert upon young and 
old — upon the wayward as well as the virtuous — cause 
his company to be coveted and his kind offices to be 
prized beyond those of any ordinary friendship. When 
their friends arrive from distant places his company is 
solicited, that he may be a partaker of their joy. When 
their children are to be consecrated to God in holy 
baptism, he is called on to administer the ordinance 
and enroll their young names upon the records of the 
Church. Are children or friends of maturer years to 
be married, the pastor is expected to celebrate the 
nuptials. 

Nor is their participation in the memorable scenes of 
family history less desired when joy is turned to sor- 
row and grief_pervades the household. Does disease 



SCENES OF JOY AND SORROW. 491 

invade the dwelling and lay its withering hand upon 
loved ones of the family group, whose presence is so 
much desired and whose consolations are so much 
prized as those of the faithful pastor? Does the last 
enemy find a victim in that family circle, how desira- 
ble is it to all that the pastor officiate at the funeral, 
and by his reading of Scripture lessons and his ten- 
der utterances of sacred truth, present the instruc- 
tions called for by so sad an event ! Also, in the 
scenes of mourning which follow the laying of loved 
ones in the grave, how grateful is the presence of the 
sympathizing pastor, who can apply the balm of con- 
solation to wounded hearts, and be to them God's agent 
in helping the afflictions of the present time work out 
for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory! Thus equally in scenes of joy and sorrow the 
true pastor becomes, and is felt to be, one of the nearest 
and dearest of earthly friends. 

Even apart from these peculiar relations, it is within 
his province to touch society at many vital points. In 
scenes of public calamity he is expected to be both 
an adviser and a consoler, while in all good and phi- 
lanthropic activities he has an opportunity to act either- 
as a leader or an influential coadjutor. Thus it be- 
comes evident that in his social capacity, scarcely less 
than in his office of public religious teacher, the Chris- 
tian pastor may, by properly fulfilling his mission, exert 
a wide and happy influence upon the welfare and des- 
tinies of his fellow-men. 

But that these high results may be attained he must 
maintain in society an unblemished consistency with 
his public ministerial character. " Watching unto 



492 WATCHFULNESS. 

prayer " should be his motto, not less in the drawing- 
room than in the pulpit. Society is not only a field 
of usefulness, but also of danger. Sometimes its fasci- 
nations allure ministers to a waste of time, and some- 
times to the countenance of evil. 

If when our Savior was upon earth "the Pharisees 
took counsel how they might entangle him in his 
talk," (Matt, xxii, 15,) his disciples of the present day 
need not be surprised if they are sometimes the ob- 
ject of similar and even worse designs from men and 
women whom they may meet. While therefore they 
should be free and fearless in communicating the 
truth and all good influences, they should be on their 
guard lest at any time their " good be evil spoken 
of," or their influence neutralized by the slightest 
weakness or indiscretion.* 

* See Cecil's observations on a minister's familiar intercourse with his 
hearers. " Cecil's Remains." Carters, New York. 



EVILS OF ASCETICISM. 493 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS FAMILY. 

THE Christian pastor should neither be an ascetic, 
a hermit, nor a monk. Consequently he should 
not be subject to a constrained celibacy. It was an 
evil day in which Christianity began to deviate from 
the social life commended and illustrated in the New 
Testament, and to imitate the ascetic practices of 
Oriental Paganism and of a corrupt Judaism. Yet 
such was the origin of the whole system of monas- 
ticism and of the clerical celibacy which the Greek 
and Roman Churches have so long encouraged and 
enjoined. 

No language can adequately portray the evils that 
have resulted to Christianity from this one great 
error, not merely in the immoralities that have grown 
out of a system at war with nature, but also from 
that fearful waste and perversion of talent by which 
for long ages so many of the best men and wo- 
men of the Church withdrew themselves from the 
usual associations of life, where as the salt of the 
earth they were greatly needed, and retired to caves, 
and deserts, and monastic cells, to spend their days 
in useless soUtude and inflictions. No such system 
was countenanced by our Lord Jesus Christ. The 



494 ^^^ LAWS OF SOCIETY— EXCEPTIONS. 

tenor of his teaching was designed to guard his fol- 
lowers against asceticism, as may be seen from his re- 
bukes and denunciations of the Pharisees, and also to 
instruct and employ them in those active and useful 
duties which equally promote the welfare of men and 
the glory of God. The spirit of his doctrine on this 
subject is indicated by his memorable prayer for his 
disciples, " I pray not that thou shouldst take them 
out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them 
from the evil." John xvii, 15. The teachings of 
the New Testament contemplate Christians as actual 
members of human society, and make no exceptions 
with reference to ministers. Although they do not 
specifically enjoin marriage upon individuals, they com- 
mend it as "honorable in all," and the allusions of 
Christ and the apostles to the design of the Creator 
and the universal instincts of humanity,* show that 
Christianity was not designed to contravene, but to 
elevate and hallow the domestic relations. Neverthe- 
less, while marriage may be considered the general law 
of human society, there may be many exceptional cases 
in which it is the duty of individuals to refrain from 
it. When a minister adopts that course in the con- 
viction that he may thus do more to promote the 
extension of the Redeemer's kingdom, his motives 
deserve to be honored. The history of the Church 
contains notable examples of this character. It may 
be sufficient to name Paul among the apostles, and 
Asbury and M'Kendree among the apostolic bishops 
of America. 

Many such, though less distinguished exceptions, 

*Matt. xix, 5 ; Mark x, 5 ; Eph. v, 31. 



CAUTION NEEDED. 495 

may exist and continue to occur, and may be highly 
commendable in view of peculiar personal circum- 
stances and of peculiar phases of ministerial labor. 
Nevertheless, it may be considered as a general rule, 
established by long experience, that pastors should 
be married men. No argument is necessary to cor- 
roborate an opinion so generally received in all Prot- 
estant Churches, and even sustained by the expe- 
rience of Roman Catholics. On the other hand, 
wholesome cautions seem to be called for, lest some 
of the young men of the present day, so far from 
neglecting their liberty in this regard, make an in- 
discreet use of it. Since to err is human, perhaps it 
ought not to be a cause of surprise that mistakes are 
made even in so important a matter as this by per- 
sons not chargeable with any bad intentions. Yet, 
since mistakes in forming life-long relations are im- 
possible of remedy, and may seriously prejudice sacred 
interests of the Church as well as the happiness and 
usefulness of those who make them, it seems not too 
much to suggest that the subject in question is enti- 
tled to a more intelligent consideration and more 
patient inquiries, both as to the proper period and 
conditions of marriage, than it has sometimes re- 
ceived. Therefore, notwithstanding the proverbial 
uselessness of unasked advice, and indeed of any ad- 
vice in regard to matrimony, the author will venture 
a few hints for the benefit of young men who think 
themselves called to the ministry, which, (if seen in 
time,) he is confident, will not be without advantage 
to those, at least, of whom any high degree of useful- 
ness can be expected. 



496 ERRORS TO BE AVOIDED. 

Whatever may be said of others, it is rare to find 
in this class of persons the character whom Solo- 
mon describes as "wiser in his own conceit than 
seven men that can render a reason." Prov. xxvi, i6. 
It may consequently be assumed that young men pos- 
sessing the qualities referred to will gladly hear in- 
struction and "attend to know understanding." All 
such will regard it as a religious duty to take warn- 
ing from the errors of others, and to avoid all courses 
which have been proved to be wrong. Of these the 
following may be mentioned : 

1. Any tampering with the affections of ladies- 
Words and actions which from other persons might 
not be particularly considered, when indulged by in- 
tending ministers are liable to be construed as very 
significant. Hence the great propriety of the rule, 
" Converse sparingly and conduct yourself prudently 
with women." And also of the resolution of the 
Psalmist: "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin 
not with my tongue." 

2. Premature engagements. Matrimonial engage- 
ments on the part of actual or intending ministers 
are to be regarded as premature which lack any 
of the following prerequisites: (i.) Age, physically 
and intellectually mature in both parties. (2.) A 
completed education. (3.) A developed and estab- 
lished character. (4.) A demonstrated capacity of 
self and family support. Students in all grades of 
institutions and probationers in Conferences should 
consider the full weight and bearing of these tests. 
In the light of them few courses of conduct betray 
more certain indications of mental or moral weakness 



HIGH AND PURE MOTIVES DEMANDED. 497 

than undue haste in assuming the cares and responsi- 
bilities of matrimonial life. 

3. Unsuitable engagements. No matrimonial en- 
gagement can be considered suitable for a Christian 
minister in which the lady lacks either a decided 
Christian experience, a good and practical education, 
well-defined and decided sympathy for Christian asso- 
ciations and Christian labor. Incongruity of taste, 
great disparity of age and circumstances in life, to- 
gether with various other characteristics and condi- 
tions that need not be mentioned, will by thoughtful 
persons be considered also a sufficient barrier to mat- 
rimony on the part of ministers. 

4. Marrying for wealth or for any motive not sus- 
tained by deep and pure personal affection. If matri- 
mony is a transaction of so grave importance that, 
according to the language of the Ritual, it " is not by 
any to be entered into unadvisedly, but reverently, 
discreetly, and in fear of God," then certainly no 
person who believes himself called to the ministry of 
the gospel has the moral right to act in a matter so 
greatly involving not only his own welfare, but that of 
the Church, from any motives that will not bear the 
fullest scrutiny. Hence the great propriety of the 
disciplinary advice, " Take no step toward marriage 
without first consulting with your brethren." The 
spirit of this rule does not imply indiscriminate or 
ceremonious consultation on the subject, but rather 
that every minister should secure to himself the ad- 
vantage of the impartial judgment of one or two 
confidential friends. With even this precaution, it is 
not certain that all mistakes can be avoided ; never- 

42 



498 THE PASTOR'S WIFE. 

theless the liability to mistake is greatly reduced ; 
whereas, he who through pride or false delicacy ignores 
the advice or the judgment of others, is entitled to 
but little sympathy whatever mistakes he may com- 
mit. Lasting and bitter have been the consequences 
of unwise marriages on the part of ministers. Nor 
have these consequences been experienced only by 
young men. No other example need be cited in proof 
of both statements than that of Mr. Wesley, and the 
probability is that his matrimonial misfortune might 
have been avoided by a judicious compliance with 
the spirit of his own rule. 

As to the proper qualifications of a pastor's wife, it 
may be summarily said, that they should correspond 
in all important respects with those demanded in the 
pastor himself.* 

If any should think that this assertion places the 
standard too high let him reflect upon, i. The unity 
of character and influence contemplated by the mar- 
riage relation ; and 2. The peculiar responsibilities 
and duties of the pastor's wife. 

The first of these topics has only to be considered 
in the light of the Scripture affirmation, " they twain 
shall be one flesh ;" to make it evident that no one 
can succeed well as a pastor whose wife lacks the es-. 
sential characteristics of the experience, knowledge, 
and character defined in the chapter referred to. 

While this is not the place to discuss in detail the 
peculiar responsibilities and duties of a pastor's wife, 
it doubtless is the place to assert that both demand 
full exemplification in the following particulars : 
*See Chap, vi, pp. 177-243. 



MO TIVES A ND ME A NS OF IMPR VEMENT. 499 

1. A pastor's wife should be a model Christian wo- 
man, illustrating with religious fidelity all those traits 
of character which ennoble and adorn her sex. 

2. As manager and head of the pastor's household 
she should maintain a model home, adapted to her 
circumstances, and, if need be, to her trials. 

3. She should be a true helpmeet of the minister 
in the many phases and departments of his work in 
which she can render him aid. 

4. While she should not be forward, or feel herself 
neglected, if not put forward in Church enterprises, 
she should nevertheless qualify herself, and be ready, 
if occasion requires, to be a j*iidicious and enterpris- 
ing leader in those various forms of Christian activity 
in which ladies can act with propriety and efficiency. 

Should the question be asked. What can be done 
when ladies have been induced to assume the position 
of ministers' wives without either the qualifications 
requisite or any adequate idea of them } the answer 
is obvious and demands application in hundreds of 
cases. Every effort should be made by the ladies in 
question to attain the qualifications needed, and all 
possible aid should be rendered them on the part of 
their husbands for that specific object. In the major- 
ity of cases the faults existing are more attributable 
to the husbands than to the wives. Had the former 
been considerate and patient, and allowed sufficient 
time, the latter would doubtless have liked nothing so 
well as opportunities for special preparation for the 
duties and responsibilities upon which they are invited 
to enter, but which they were not previously author- 
ized to anticipate. Great inconsidcratencss is often 



500 JOINT RESPONSIBILITY, 

displayed at this very point. Young men who have 
for long years been studying to prepare themselves 
for ministerial duty, seem to expect ladies to whom 
they propose marriage, to be ready for corresponding 
duties in the course of a few months. But worse 
than this, when marriage is consummated, they take 
no suitable measures to aid their companions in secur- 
ing the adaptations, and making the improvement 
possible to them in their new positions. 

Thus many a young minister, however inadver- 
tently, has become actually culpable in neglecting to 
encourage in his wife those high aspirations and stu- 
dious habits which weuld have enabled her to keep 
pace with his own mental progress, if not even to 
quicken and lead it forward. At the same time, he 
has had his share of responsibility in imposing upon 
the object of his affections a heavy burden of family 
cares which she has been doomed to bear for the re- 
mainder of her life. 

Reflection will enable any one to see that matrimo- 
nial partnership should extend, at least in spirit and 
sympathy, to every phase of practical life, and that 
unless it does in the pastoral sphere, instead of a 
perpetually increasing assimilation of character and 
qualifications, an endless divergence may take place 
that will be seriously prejudicial to both parties. It 
is scarcely possible to avoid such a divergence where 
one party is mentally progressive while the other is 
stationary. Hence, as every minister ought to be in- 
tellectually progressive, his wife, also, in her sphere, 
ought not to be behind him. And that she may not 
be, both minister and people are responsible to relieve 



A MODEL HOME— DIFFICULTIES. 501 

her from unnecessary burdens, and to encourage her 
in all noble efforts.* 

No one will question the assertion that every mar- 
ried pastor ought to have a model family, in which 
not only neatness, order, and economy of household 
arrangements but also Christian life and duty are 
constantly exemplified. Such a family, in any com- 
munity, will be a constant power for good. As a pre- 
siding genius over the arrangements and harmonies 
of domestic life, in the focus, as it were, of a religious 
community, the pastor's wife finds her primary and 
peculiar sphere of responsibility and influence. Not 
only is she expected to accomplish the usual tasks of a 
good wife and mother, but to see that her household is 
regulated with a controlling reference to her husband's 
personal and public obligations. If it is his duty to 
devote his mornings and sometimes other hours to 
study, it is her duty not only to avoid trespassing 
upon those hours, but also to protect him as much as 
possible from the interruptions of company, and yet 
to treat with courtesy all persons who may call. She 
should also be on the alert for opportunities in which 
to exert a happy social and religious influence in the 
Church and community. Innumerable are the ways 
in which won.anly tact, under the control of Christian 
sympathy, fervent zeal, and a wise discretion can aid 
and supplement a pastor's best endeavors to do good 
and build up the Church. 

It is not to be denied or even doubted that both 
the pastor and his wife must encounter difficulties, 

* For a spirited sketch of what ministers' wives ought to be and to 
do, see an article by one of their number, herself an example of all 
that she recommends, in the Ladies' Repository of January, iSyi. 



502 TRIALS AND ADVANTAGES. 

and sometimes serious difficulties, in maintaining a 
high standard of family order, government, and influ- 
ence. Many are the inconveniences they suffer in the 
course of successive removals, and especially in the 
exposure of their children to so many acquaintances 
and often undesirable influences. It is not seldom 
that even the partialities of their friends cause them 
embarrassments difficult to be managed. Neverthe- 
less, when their crosses are borne in the spirit of self- 
denial for Christ's sake, they usually prove to be bless- 
ings in disguise, or at least are, in the end, overruled 
for their good. With them as with others " 't is home 
where the heart is," and when their heart is deeply in- 
terested in the salvation of the community in which 
their lot is cast, they learn to toil cheerfully, and, if 
necessary, endure privations patiently for the sake of 
Him who hath called them to so great and good a work. 
But with all he is called on to do for others, the 
pastor must never forget that his family is a part of 
his field of ministerial labor. In it he must offer 
daily the morning and evening sacrifice of thanksgiv- 
ing and prayer. In it he must, not on the Sabbath 
merely, but constantly, preach by example as well as 
by precept, and in it he may hope to gather some of 
the richest and ripest fruits of his labor in the vine- 
yard of the Lord. All these considerations combine 
to render the home associations of a pastor very 
sacred and precious to him, and all the more so when 
he is enabled to see that even with added cares and 
burdens his family becomes to him an agency of help 
to an enlarged and enlarging influence in the com- 
munity in which he dwells. Certain it is, that in 



HOME COURTESIES. 503 

the bosom of his family, and amid the surroundings 
of wife and children, he learns to take views of human 
life far more real, and, consequently, better adapted 
to influence his opinions and teachings than if he 
dwelt in a cloister or in personal seclusion from the 
actualities of human society. 

In conclusion of this chapter, it is proper to say, 
that if a pastor would have a mode) home and make 
that home an agency of good to all who come within 
its influence, he must, on his part, be a model of all 
home proprieties and courtesies. It is not enough 
that he be polite and agreeable in other circles, or 
even command admiration in general society. He 
must also, where he is known best, be an example of 
all that is winning and lovely in his daily walk and 
conversation ; manifesting to his wife and children, if 
he have them, a deep, tender, and constant interest in 
their welfare. What has been said with reference to 
the art of pleasing is scarcely less true of the art of 
doing good to those around us — "it lies chiefly in a 
constant attention to small and often indescribable 
things." Not only should the law of kindness rule in 
his heart, it should also overflow from his lips in 
those kind words which never die. Especially, when 
a pastor's cares and anxieties weigh upon him, he 
should be on his guard against that gloominess and 
reserve, not to speak of petulance and irritability, 
which will inflict upon his friends the penalties of 
his official position. Rather by habitual geniality in 
his home scenes he should seek those agreeable 
changes in the current of his thoughts which will 
strengthen him for other scenes and sterner duties. 



504 VARIOUS FORMS OF CHRISTIAN WORK, 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATIONS TO CHRISTIAN 
ACTIVITIES AND ENTERPRISES. 

WHILE the Church is divinely appointed as 
** the pillar and ground of the truth," and as 
the one central agency by which the world is to be 
rescued from the power of sin, yet its forms of action 
are various, and sometimes indirect. It therefore be- 
comes a Christian pastor to be associated with various 
agencies of benevolence in which good men may co- 
operate, as well without as within the sphere of Church 
work. Nevertheless he should be on his guard against 
committing himself, or the influence of the Church, 
to ill-judged or impracticable schemes, under what- 
ever auspices they may be proposed. The present is 
an age both of real and of pretended reform. The 
good that has been done, and is being accomplished 
by legitimate Christian agencies, has stimulated in 
many persons a desire for notoriety. Hence there 
seems to be no end to projects, conventions, and or- 
ganizations, proposing the mitigation of evils and the 
promotion of good. While some of them may be 
called for, and a still greater number may be well 
meant, some have not even these recommendations, 
and many others lack so many essential elements 
of success that they ought not to be encouraged. 



PUBLIC CHARITIES— TEMPERANCE. 505 

As direct Church work, in one form or another, com- 
prehends nearly every thing that is good, and is of it- 
self sufficient to absorb the time and energies of the 
strongest men, pastors should only assent to render 
personal or official co-operation to those auxiliary en- 
terprises of which the good character and practical 
tendencies are fully established. Of these there is no 
lack, and to some of them, attention will now be briefly 
called. 

1. Public Charities. So long as the precept, "Do 
good unto all men," is in force, no Christian, nor 
Christian Church, can be indifferent to the distresses 
of the afflicted, nor to any judicious efforts for their 
alleviation. Hence it may often occur that endeavors 
to relieve the poor, to succor the unfortunate, and pro- 
vide for the helpless, whether in isolated cases, or by 
general and permanent foundations, should have the 
full influence of a pastor's advocacy and personal ex- 
ertions. Our Lord's statement, " The poor ye have 
always with you," is a standing appeal to the liber- 
ality of the Church, and whether Churches act singly 
or collectively, or through general organizations, pas- 
tors should never be backward in pressing upon their 
people the full claims of Christian charity. 

2. The Cause of Temperance. So prevalent, and so 
fatal to all the true interests of humanity are the evils 
of intemperance, that any Christian minister who does 
not seek to prevent and mitigate them by all the 
means in his power, deserves the reprobation of good 
men every-where, and all the more if he does not 
stand condemned by his own conscience. The tem- 
perance reformation practically originated in the Chris- 

43 



506 TEMPERANCE MEASURES. 

tian Church, and has during its whole history been a 
valuable auxiliary to direct Christian influence. It 
has rescued thousands of persons from habits of dis- 
sipation, and saved tens of thousands from forming 
such habits by its influence in banishing drinking cus- 
toms from good society. But notwithstanding all it 
has done in demonstrating that total abstinence is an 
absolute remedy for intemperance, and in checking its 
ravages, yet the tide of this terrible ruin flows on, and 
continues to sweep vi*ctims without number into the 
vortex of destruction. Those who wish to do what 
they can toward preventing intemperance, and rescu- 
ing its actual victims, will not be indifferent to the 
following suggestions : 

(i.) Not only every pastor, but every Christian min- 
ister, should be himself a pledged abstainer from every 
thing that intoxicates, if for no other reason than to 
give the weight of a consistent example on the right 
side. He should also be an habitual abstainer from 
the use of tobacco in all its forms, for the double pur- 
pose of maintaining personal purity (of the flesh and 
of the spirit), and of escaping the taunt of inconsist- 
ency embodied in that old rebuke, "Physician heal 
thyself" With what eflect can a smoker or a chewer 
of the filthy weed reprove a consumer of opium or a 
drinker of ardent spirits } With what confidence or 
hope can he preach any form of temperance or self- 
denial to others, when he fails to embody in his own 
life a consistent example of both t 

(2.) The pastor should preach faithfully, and with 
appropriate frequency, on the evils of intemperance 
and their remedy. In order to do this eflectively he 



CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS. 507 

should make himself familiar not only with the teach- 
ings of the Scriptures on the subject, but with the doc- 
uments and statistics of the temperance reformation. 

(3.) He should inculcate temperance principles in 
his Sunday-school, taking all legitimate measures to 
enlist children and young persons under the banner 
of total abstinence. 

(4.) He should encourage temperance societies of 
all appropriate forms, and hold himself ready to aid 
them by addresses and other modes of co-operation. 

(5^.) He should provide himself with temperance 
tracts, and also with temperance pledges, to be pre- 
sented to individuals and families as occasions may 
arise. A pastor may sometimes secure the signature 
of a temperance pledge when no other person can. 
By these and other modes of co-operation with active 
temperance measures, much good may be accom- 
plished in preparing the way for decided Christian 
influence. 

3. Yomig Men's Christian Associations. Within re- 
cent years, associations of this name have been formed 
in the large cities of England and America, and have 
proved very successful agencies for a certain class of 
Christian efforts. 

Their main purpose is to aid young men in avoid- 
ing the peculiar temptations by which they are beset, 
especially in cities, and to provide them with such 
social and other privileges as are thoroughly leavened 
with Christian influence. The Christian Association 
differs from the Church in that it has immediate ref- 
erence to the wants of a class, and adapts all its 
methods to the peculiar needs of young men, rather 



508 MORAL WANTS OF YOUNG MEN. 

than to the general wants of every one. As a natural 
consequence, these methods are such as accord with 
the special working capacities of young men, and as 
are an offset to their temptations. Social meetings, 
not devotional, are properly made use of, because 
youth have a special fondness for society. Public 
entertainments are also employed, because during the 
period of early manhood recreation of this sort has a 
special attractiveness. These and other various ap- 
pliances used by Young Men's Christian Associations 
are, in general, wisely adapted to the particular end 
in view, namely : To save young men for Christ by 
the agency of young men already saved. 

In nearly every community there are many young 
men not reached by the ordinary means of grace. To 
seek out such persons and make special effort in their 
behalf was the design for which these associations 
came into being. They were not meant to be rivals, 
but auxiliaries of Christian Churches. In this design 
they have challenged the co-operation and support of 
the Evangelical Churches, and have often proved very 
useful as a bond of union between the active young 
men of different Churches. In some instances, a tend- 
ency has been manifested to magnify the importance 
of Christian associations, so as to give them the pre- 
cedence of Churches and Church interests. But this 
error is too obvious to command general approval, 
and will usually disappear before the cordial co-opera- 
tion and wholesome advice of pastors and active 
Church members. As it is a Christian duty to " sow 
beside all waters," and to endeavor to save souls by 
all available instrumentalities, pastors can not properly 



CHURCH PLANTING, 509 

be indiflferent to agencies of so much public promise 
as those now under consideration. They should rather 
seek to be represented in them, both personally and 
by such of their Church members as can be appro- 
priately delegated for that work. They should, how- 
ever, inculcate no doubtful views as to the primary 
allegiance which Christian young men owe to the 
Church of Christ, while at the same time they culti- 
vate the most catholic feelings and practice the most 
generous self-sacrifice in behalf of measures not strictly 
in Church form. 

4. Domestic Missions. As a part of their proper 
work pastors should be on the lookout for home mis- 
sion fields in which both they and their people can 
extend Christian influences, and exemplify the ag- 
gressive character of the gospel. An essential char- 
acteristic of a living Church is actual expansiveness. 
Where there is vitality there is growth, and growth 
by multiplication is better than by enlargement, after 
the highest degree of working efficiency is attained. 

The planting of Churches was a special work of the 
apostles. But as the work begun by them will not be 
completed till the evangelization of the world shall be 
completed, it is permitted to modern pastors and" 
Churches to have a part in it. Some of the most 
prosperous Churches of the present day originated in 
the missionary efforts of older Churches. 

Sometimes Church planting is accomplished by de- 
taching a small number of Church members to serve 
as the nucleus of a new organization, and sometimes 
by the agency of mission Sunday-schools, which grow 
into congregations. Sunday-schools, indeed, are a 



510 THE FIELD IS THE WORLD, 

favorite and favored mode of Church extension, and 
deserve to be prosecuted in every practicable locality 
for that object. Thus it may be seen that the idea of 
domestic missions, as here advocated, not only con- 
templates sustained evangelistic effort among the poor 
and the wretched, but in all neighborhoods where 
there is room for the establishment of new Churches. 
The United States of America, the home of emi- 
grants from all lands, furnish innumerable and ever- 
multiplying fields of this kind, and pastors should 
every-where seek to engage their people in cultivating 
them, rejoicing more in the general multiplication of 
Christian agencies and influence, than in the mere 
increase of their own membership. 

The recent emancipation of millions of slaves within 
our borders has created the necessity of a very impor- 
tant class of missions throughout large sections of the 
United States. No words can exaggerate the claims 
of the freedmen of the South upon the philanthropy 
and religious solicitude of Christian Churches, minis- 
ters, and people. As the domestic missionary efforts 
now referred to are most successfully prosecuted by 
means of Sunday-schools, Tract distribution, and other 
forms of Christian activity already described in this vol- 
ume, further remarks on this head seem unnecessary. 

5. Foreign Missions. A true ministerial call is 
not limited to any smaller parish than the world. 
Though its subject may live and die in a comparatively 
narrow sphere, yet he should keep himself in constant 
sympathy, and, so far as possible, in actual contact 
with the world-wide enterprises of Christianity. If a 
pastor he should count it both a duty and a joy to 



A PASTOR'S DUTY. 5II 

enable his people as far as possible to occupy a simi- 
lar position. Something must be essentially wrong 
either in pastor or people when that result is not at- 
tained. That pastor is to be pitied whose narrowness 
of views would allow him to tolerate in himself or 
others isolation from the cause of Christian missions, 
or inactivity in its promotion. Still more is any pas- 
tor to be blamed who would so far pervert his pre- 
rogatives as to foster indifference or practical opposi- 
tion to that cause. 

As Christianity was designed for a world-wide ex- 
tension, and as the Church was instituted as the 
means of its preservation and dissemination, no min- 
ister of Christ has any right to be inactive or neu- 
tral in reference to Christian missions, the only agency 
by which the Church can possibly fulfill her great 
commission. Where ministers are indifferent it can 
not be expected that the people will be active or sym- 
pathetic, but the greatest indifference on the part of 
the people may be expected to yield to a lively interest 
cherished in the heart, and expressed by the lips of 
their spiritual teachers. On any congregation where 
less than this is done by the pastor, a positive wrong 
is inflicted, since practical co-operation with appropri- 
ate efforts to evangelize the world is a high Christian 
privilege. 

If the question be asked, How is a pastor to do his 
full duty in behalf of Foreign missions } the answer 
will need to be given in several particulars. 

(i.) He should begin with himself and cultivate in 
his own heart ardent desires for the salvation not only 
of his countrymen, but of his fellow-beings through- 



5 1 2 FAITHFULNESS. 

out the world. Among the means of this truly Chris- 
tian cultivation may be mentioned a systematic read- 
ing of the annals of missionary effort, and a thorough 
study of its past results in comparison with its pres- 
ent progress and future prospects. The pastor should 
not only know what is transpiring with the various 
mission fields throughout the earth, but should accus- 
tom himself to habitual prayer, both in private and in 
public, for the coming of Christ's kingdom into all 
hearts and its establishment among all the nations of 
the earth. 

(2.) He should systematically and frequently com- 
municate the most important items of missionary his- 
tory and current intelligence to the members of his 
flock, and seek to arouse among them active sympathy 
and practical efforts in behalf of the heathen. 

(3.) He should by preaching, by conversation, by the 
distribution of printed matter, by his own example of 
liberality, and by all other legitimate means, seek to 
enlist the Church in the support of Christian missions. 
The primary necessity of every missionary society is 
a supply of current funds with which to send out 
missionaries, and support those who are in the field. 
Unless this be secured, missionaries have to be 
withdrawn and the most promising fields abandoned. 
Hence liberal and systematic giving is to be every- 
where encouraged, and even stimulated, in opposition 
to prevailing worldliness and love of money. But the 
giving of money is not all. Life and labor must be 
consecrated to this great agency of salvation for lost 
men. Hence parents should consecrate their children 
to this work, and educate them in view of it so that 



UNITY OF HOME AND FOREIGN WORK, 513 

if it should please God to call them to the high honor 
of evangelizing the heathen, they may be thoroughly 
furnished for the task. Persons of suitable age and 
Christian character should also be exhorted and en- 
couraged to give themselves to this most noble en- 
terprise. Those moreover who have means not yet 
available should be advised to make legacies to this 
and similar objects through which their influence will 
live after them, and be acting in behalf of truth and 
holiness when they will have gone to their final ac- 
count. 

In connection with these duties it is all important 
to encourage the habit of constant and fervent prayer 
for the great object we seek to promote. The Savior 
himself taught his disciples to pray for the coming of 
his kingdom and the doing of his will upon earth, 
even prior to asking for their daily bread. Christians 
should therefore never lose sight of the fact, that the 
cause of missions is the cause of God, and that while 
they are permitted to toil for its promotion, success 
must be the divine gift. Success in this work, how- 
ever, is an object for which prayer is appointed, and 
is specially appropriate. In offering it the Church as- 
sumes the duty enjoined upon her long ages ago in" 
connection with the glorious promise given to her in 
the name of her Divine Head. " Ask of me and I 
shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and 
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." 

(4.) Pastors should not merely act in behalf of this 
cause on their own judgment, but in harmony with the 
systems and the agencies appointed by the Church of 
which they form a part. Only in union on a large scale 



514 MORAL GRANDEUR OF THE WHOLE. 

can there be power to sustain effective and far-reach- 
ing missionary enterprises, but by means of united lib- 
erality and persevering effort on the part of pastors and 
people throughout an extensive and growing Church, 
missionary zeal, activity, and success may be made 
correspondent to each other in ever-widening circles 
which will ultimately reach to earth's remotest bounds. 
The most groundless of all fears are those which 
would restrain a pastor« or a Church from putting 
forth the largest liberality in behalf of foreign missions 
lest home interests should suffer in consequence. 
Demonstrations are innumerable that a faithful and 
self-denying discharge of Christian duty to the heathen 
world, not only reacts favorably upon the piety, the 
activity, and the faith of Churches in Christian lands, 
but is attended with what can not otherwise be at- 
tained or consistently expected — that blessing of the 
Lord which maketh rich, and to which he addeth no 
sorrow or disadvantage. Besides, this world-wide 
sympathy and far-reaching effort are important to 
success in the ordinary work of the ministry. No 
pastor can be really true to his own position who does 
not regard himself and his work as a part of God's 
great agency for the salvation of the world. No min- 
istry can be powerful or sublime that does not rise to 
the grandeur of this conception, and no ministry can 
lack sublimity and high moral power when the min- 
ister bears upon his heart the burden of the world, 
coupled with just conceptions of the eternity to which 
all earth's inhabitants are hastening. 






CHRISTIANITY ED UCA TIONAL. 5 I $ 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATIONS TO EDUCATION, THE 
PRESS, AND THE COUNTRY. 

ALL the best schools and school systems of mod- 
ern times are an outgrowth of Christianity. 
Whether inquiry be made into the history of Euro- 
pean universities or that of the colleges, academies, 
and free schools of the United States of America, it 
will be found that with scarcely an exception they all 
owe their origin to Christian men — in many cases to 
Christian ministers. Especially has our own country 
been benefited by the early foundation and liberal 
support of educational institutions under Christian 
auspices. Harvard College was founded by the Pil- 
grim Fathers in 1638, only eighteen years after their 
first landing at Plymouth Rock. Yale College had 
its inception in 1700, when several ministers marked 
the opening of the new century by bringing together 
a selection of books from their private libraries, say- 
ing, "These books we give for the founding of a col- 
lege in Connecticut." After the establishment of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in America, the early 
ministers of that Church, with equal promptness, in- 
augurated educational movements which have since 
spread, with great efficiency, over the entire country. 
So the \*arious Christiak Churches in the various 



5l6 DUTIES TO PARENTS AND CHILDREN. 

States of the republic have put forth voluntary and 
efficient exertions for the founding and support of 
more than two hundred colleges and a far greater 
number of academies, while, at the sanre time, the 
members of those Churches have cheerfully borne 
their full proportion of taxation for the establishment 
and support of the public schools of the country. In 
fact, the whole public school system of the United 
States owes its origin and, in a large degree, its suc- 
cess, to the favorable sentiment created and sustained 
by the Christian Churches and people in behalf of 
general and liberal culture. In order properly to sus- 
tain and worthily to perpetuate influence of so great 
value, Christian ministers of the present and of the 
future should cherish a lively interest in education, 
and manifest it in all appropriate ways, and not to do 
so will be to forfeit many opportunities of enlarging 
their influence and usefulness. 

Among the modes of favorably influencing the ed- 
ucational agencies by which they are surrounded, 
and of enabling young persons of their acquaintance 
to profit by them in the largest degree, the following 
may be suggested : 

1. Pastors should accustom themselves to visit the 
schools of their vicinity, and to speak words of coun- 
sel and encouragement both to teachers and scholars. 
The latter belong, to a greater or less extent, to their 
flock, and have a right to claim such attentions. The 
former usually appreciate the co-operation derived 
from friendly visits of that character, and thus double 
good is easily accomplished. 

2. They should encourage and exhort parents to 



FAVOR TOWARD GOOD INSTITUTIONS. 517 

educate their children and youth to acquire knowl- 
edge, self-discipline, and qualifications for usefulness. 
No class of persons more frequently have it in their 
power to arouse dormant intellect or to induce young 
persons to commence a career of study and self- 
development than pastors,^ and when this is done 
none are more gratefully remembered by the subjects 
of their influence through all subsequent life. 

3. They should aid their people to discriminate in 
favor of those educational institutions in which direct 
Christian influences are exerted. For the accom- 
plishment of their duty in the two respects last men- 
tioned, pastors have more or less opportunity in the 
course of their pastoral visits, and in private conver- 
sations. But they are also at liberty to use the pul- 
pit for these objects. Indeed, it is made the special 
duty of " each preacher in charge " of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church "to preach on the subject of educa- 
tion once a year, and to diffuse information in respect 
to it by the distribution of tracts or otherwise." It 
is true that up to this time the requisitions of the 
Discipline in reference to education have had a promi- 
nent reference to the foundation and endowment of 
institutions for the higher education of our youth. 
But it is also true that it is an equal desideratum to 
induce our youth in far greater numbers to profit as 
extensively as possible by the institutions and en- 
dowments already provided for. This can not be done 
without the personal and official co-oj3eration of pas- 
tors. Many persons fail to consider properly the 
responsibility of selecting the right institutions and 
instruction for their children. They make their choice 



5l8 PASTORS AND THE PRESS. 

a matter of accident or mere temporary convenience, 
whereas their children are to receive but one ed- 
ucation for life, and upon that education their happi- 
ness, their character, their future position in society, 
and their welfare in the world to come, will necessarily, 
in a great degree, depencl. Indifference to this sub- 
ject, on the part of pastors, encourages indifference 
among the people, whereas an affectionate pastoral 
anxiety, coupled with intelligent advice, can not fail 
to enlarge the views of parents in reference to educa- 
tion under the best auspices, and influence their con- 
clusions. If, by such means, the children and youth 
of our charges were induced to profit by the pro- 
visions the Church has made for their advanced and 
thorough education, great good would be accom- 
plished and a greatly increased amount of talent 
enlisted in the service of the great Head of the 
Church. 

In this age of printing and reading, ministers 
should not be content without wielding, as far as 
practicable, the influence of the press in behalf of the 
great object of their lives. While this should not be 
attempted to the detriment of their primary and higher 
calling, ways may often be found in which it can be 
done in harmony with that, and sometimes in subservi- 
ence to it. The newspaper is usually the door of 
entrance into the field of authorship, and there are 
many occasions in which pastors may avail themselves 
of the secular and religious newspapers of the day as 
a means of communication with the public on appro- 
priate topics. Here let a caution be uttered against 
ministers allowing themselves to write on trivial sub- 



MOTIVES FOR WRITING. 519 

jects as well as against putting themselves in print 
inopportunely or too often. The reputation of a scrib- 
bler is not enviable, and it is better to publish nothing 
than to expose one's self to ridicule or even to the low 
estimation of his readers. What the pastor writes, 
therefore, for the public, should be well and carefully 
written, even though it be but a paragraph, an inci- 
dent, or a letter of correspondence. Perhaps the best 
safeguard against possible errors in this matter is close 
attention to the motives by which one is prompted to 
write. If a desire for notoriety is found at the bot- 
tom, it had better be summarily repressed. If, how- 
ever, a single eye to the divine glory and pure motives 
to do good predominate, the minister is in no more 
danger of being too diligent with his pen than with 
his tongue in setting forth sound doctrine and whole- 
some precepts. The fact that some men may have 
been ostentatious in the line of authorship is a poor 
excuse for the indolence of many others who have 
made no effort to do good through the agency of the 
press. In order to comprehend this subject justly, it 
must be borne in mind that, as yet, there is no re- 
dundance of good reading in the world. On the other 
hand, there is danger of bad books and exceptionable 
reading gaining a predominance. It may be unhesi- 
tatingly said, that for Sunday-school libraries and for 
youth, there is, and there seems likely to continue to 
be, a constant demand for books of a superior charac- 
ter, and of a strict adaptation to the objects of Chris- 
tian influence and instruction. Now, this object is in 
strict harmony with the design of preaching and of 
pastoral labor. Hence, the effort on the part of a 



520 DOUBLE USE OF MATTER. 

minister to produce one or more superior Sunday- 
school books would be, in itself, commendable, even 
though it might fail to succeed. Nevertheless, it 
will be more likely to succeed if time and patience 
are employed with steady reference to the object 
named, than if the writer becomes over-anxious to 
appear in print or to secure pecuniary returns from 
this branch of his labor. The truth is that book- 
making is too much given up to professional book- 
makers or to persons who resort to it merely as a 
means of support or emolument, and who, conse- 
quently, are in danger of becoming careless or un- 
scrupulous in what they write. For this evil, what 
more appropriate remedy could there be than to have 
some hundreds of pastors who know what youth and 
children need, in the way of good books, engaged in 
preparing such books in subordination to their other 
duties 1 It would probably be all the better for them, 
for the books they might produce, and for the public, 
if they would be content to take ample time to col- 
lect and express their best thoughts in the best lan- 
guage, and thus produce an agency of lasting good, 
rather than to add to the list of ephemeral publica- 
tions, of which there are already too many in existence. 
The principle which has thus been illustrated with 
reference to Sunday-school books has an obvious ap- 
plication to tracts, tract volumes, and various other 
forms of Christian literature, inclusive of reviews of 
books, and essays on suitable topics. Such literary 
labors as have been suggested, so far from detract- 
ing from thoroughness in preparation for the pulpit, 
may by proper combinations be made tributary to it. 



POWER INCREASED BY ACTIVITY, 52 1 

Efforts are usually proportioned to the motives 
which prompt them. Hence a minister will be cer- 
tain to expend more labor and thought upon a sermon 
which he expects both to deliver and to print than if 
he contemplates no second use of it or its material. 
So it not unfrequently happens that a sermon in its 
printed form has a far wider audience than when de- 
livered from the pulpit. But the results of pulpit 
preparations may not only be published in the form 
of sermons, but, with suitable modifications, in various 
other forms, and be actually better than if written for 
publication only. Thus the matter of a good Sun- 
day-school book may be first tested in a course of 
lectures or sermons to children, or addresses to a Sun- 
day-school. Some of the best books ever written by 
ministers are those of which the matter has had a 
double use, after the analogy here indicated. Some 
may object that to print their best thoughts will be to 
reduce their material available for future use in the 
pulpit. If their thoughts are limited to a given form 
and number, the objection may be valid. If, however, 
in accordance with the general laws of mind, the free 
and public use of good thoughts only makes it easier 
to produce more and better thoughts, then they may 
gladly commit themselves to a course which is adapted 
to increase their mental power, and render them more 
and more capable of meeting every future emergency. 

A clergyman is certainly to be pitied who feels the 
necessity of garnering up every choice paragraph or 
sermon he may have prepared as so much stock in 
trade, whereas he who freely uses the best he can 
attain at any given time, ir) the confidence that with 

44 



522 POLITICAL RELATIONS AND DUTIES. 

equal diligence he can produce what is as good, or 
better, at the next requirement, is the man whose 
thoughts will be always fresh, and whose power will 
be always growing. Thus it is that a judicious em- 
ployment of the press as an auxiliary of ministerial 
labor may actually improve one's style of thought and 
of language for effective pulpit address, while at the 
same time he is extending the area of his usefulness. 

In the United States of America Christian minis- 
ters are simply recognized as citizens, and those of 
them who are wise cheerfully bear their share of the 
burdens of civil life, as a just equivalent for the guar- 
anteed privileges of citizenship. Pubhc opinion, how- 
ever, accords to them a sphere of life aloof from political 
partisanship, and superior to the petty strifes insep- 
arable from free popular elections. 

While, therefore, it is possible for a clergyman to 
become a candidate for political preferment, yet in so 
doing, if he does not lower his own sense of self-re- 
spect, he is sure to shock that general sense of pro- 
priety which is cherished in common by intelligent 
persons, both within and without the pale of Christian 
Churches. 

Nevertheless, every minister of the gospel should 
be a true patriot, and from the vantage-ground he 
occupies he may expect to do as much as any other 
man, or the representative of any other class of men, 
for the well-being of society and the true prosper- 
ity of his country. It is not necessary for him to 
be destitute of political opinions, or to refrain from 
using the ballot. Indeed, he should never fail to vote 
when moral questions are at issue. More than this, 



RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXAMPLE. 523 

when great questions relating to public morals and 
the rights of men are agitated he is under obligation 
to do what he can to enlighten the public mind and 
arouse the public conscience. If his established char- 
acter be that of high moral independence, and espe- 
cially of superiority to mere partisanship, his words at 
such crises will be heard with respect, and have weight 
with candid men of all parties. This is a point, how- 
ever, at which the highest discretion is required, since 
in every congregation different parties are usually rep- 
resented by persons holding a common relation to the 
pastor, and to whom he owes a common obligation of 
respect and duty. While in times of high party feel- 
ing, prejudices are easily excited, and the pastor's posi- 
tion is not free from grave embarrassments, yet a 
supreme and intelligent regard for right, and a con- 
scientious adherence to Christian principle, will usu- 
ally command respect and secure influence. But even 
though in some cases they should fail in these results, 
they will always secure for their possessor the happy 
consciousness of having maintained a position worthy 
of his responsibilities, and given an example that will 
bear the test of time, and contribute his quota of in- 
fluence to the welfare of society and of the nation in 
which he dwells. 



524 CHURCH EDIFICES, 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE PASTOR'S RELATIONS TO CHURCH BUILDING 
AND CHURCH EXTENSION. 

WHEREVER Christianity seeks to become per- 
manent, church edifices are a necessity. With- 
out places of worship no community permanently 
hallows the Lord's day, and no minister of the gospel 
can secure regular access to the people to whom he 
would deliver the divine message. It is the privilege 
of most pastors of the present day to enter upon the 
labors of predecessors, through whose instrumentality 
Christian lands have been extensively occupied with 
sanctuaries in which the word of God may be preached, 
and the sacred ordinances administered. While this 
advantage ought to be regarded with grateful apprecia- 
tion, it by no means excuses pastors, thus favored, from 
a full share of responsibility in reference to the gen- 
eral enterprise of church building. In some places new 
Churches are to be founded. In many places new 
churches need to be built, and in all places wise meas- 
ures need to be incepted and prosecuted, having refer- 
ence to the location and erection of churches in the 
future. It is a happy result of the voluntary system of 
Church support as practiced in America, that church 
building has become universally popular. Church edifi- 
ces are every -where regarded as a necessity to the re- 



PASTORAL RESPONSIBILITY. 525 

spectability and moral welfare of communities. Hence, 
not merely Church members, but citizens generally ex- 
pect to contribute for the erection of places of worship 
at all centers of population. In many places the chief 
thing necessary to secure a good church is timely and 
intelligent leadership to plan and prompt the enter- 
prise. It is safe to say that in no other country in 
the world were there ever so many and so good 
churches built in an equal period of time as in the 
United States of America since the beginning of the 
nineteenth century. Yet it is highly probable that 
still more and better churches will be constructed 
during the next seventy years. All these considera- 
tions show that pastoral responsibility extends to this 
department of Christian effort. It must be conceded 
that oftentimes quite too much of material care and 
labor has been thrown upon ministers in securing 
the erection of churches. The design of this chapter, 
therefore, is not less to plead that pastors be relieved 
from what does not belong to them than to point out 
what is legitimately within the range of their duties. 
Unless in cases of extreme peculiarity or necessity, it 
is wrong for Church members to require or expect 
that their pastors bear the burden of securing and 
collecting subscriptions, or of contracting for materials 
and work. Yet, in some emergencies self-sacrificing 
pastors have found it necessary to do much more than 
that, even to the extent of working with their own 
hands as a means of securing the erection of churches. 
In ordinary cases, it is not only practicable, but far 
better to enlist competent laymen, accustomed to 
business, who will, advantageously to themselves and 



526 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. 

to the enterprise, relieve the pastor of secular cares 
in the matter of church building. Even then, he will 
have enough to do. Let it now be considered what 
justly belongs to pastoral responsibility in reference 
to the enterprise of erecting churches. 

1. A pastor should be capable of giving counsels 
as to the time of commencing and the mode of con- 
ducting efforts for the erection of a new church. 

2. It is specially within his province when, by suit- 
able deliberations, just conclusions are reached in 
reference to an enterprise of this kind, to aid in uni- 
fying public opinion in its favor, and in promoting the 
spirit of liberality in its support. 

3. A pastor should be able to exert a judicious in- 
fluence upon the plans and architecture of an edifice 
in which not only his convenience, but his usefulness 
and that of his successors in office, will be directly 
involved. In order to this he must be an intelligent 
student, observer, and judge of church architecture. 
He must at least know what is necessary for Church 
purposes of all kinds, and, if possible, have a cultivated 
taste in reference to position, proportions, and the 
various styles of construction. With all this he should 
neither affect the architect nor assume the responsi- 
bilities belonging to one. In the building of good 
churches the services of a competent architect are in 
the highest degree desirable, if not indispensable. 
Nevertheless, it is his duty to execute the wishes of a 
pastor and a Church rather than to prescribe what 
they shall build. Architecture, for the sake of appear- 
ance, is proverbially expensive, and it has been said 
of architects as of fire, that while most useful servants 



SITES FOR CHURCHES. 



527 



they are bad masters. The problem in reference to 
their employment is to bring their best taste and 
highest skill to the aid of convenience and under the 
restraint of economy. 

4. As church building involves not only time and 
labor, but also money in large amounts, it becomes a 
pastor to exert a wholesome influence in preventing 
debts, if possible, and in securing their liquidation 
when incurred. While, therefore, as a precautionary 
measure, he should be on the alert against every 
species of extravagance in construction or ornamenta- 
tion, he should be none the less careful to enable the 
Church, if by any means in his power, to preserve its 
honor and integrity by the prompt payment of all its 
liabihties. 

5. When sites are to be acquired for churches or 
church property, pastors should take measures to have 
good locations secured and proper titles acquired in 
joint conformity with the requirements of civil law 
and Church discipline. For lack of precaution in this 
matter, serious loss and worse embarrassment have 
sometimes occurred. Therefore, whoever may neglect 
attention to it in future, ministers should not. Church 
members and trustees, in any given charge, rarely 
have more than one experience in actual church build- 
ing. A pastor is likely to have many such experiences, 
and hence should be prepared in advance, in reference 
to all the important points at issue. He especially 
should practice a wise forecast in securing sites for 
churches to be built in coming years. Timely applica- 
tion, sustained by efforts easily practicable, will often 
secure the donation or the purchase, at slight cost, of 



528 CHRISTIAN CHURCHES MONUMENTAL, 

valuable sites which subsequently can only be procured 
with great difficulty and expense. This is equally 
true in towns just located, and in the suburbs of 
large cities. Great interests of the Christian Church 
in this country in particular, depend on the wise and 
timely action of pastors in this one matter of lo- 
cating churches and holding the sites by means of 
Sunday-school buildings, chapels, or otherwise, until 
congregations can be gathered and churches erected. 

Church building is an enterprise of broad extent 
and permanent interest. The edifices erected for re- 
ligious uses in any country at any given period are 
monumental of the ideas prevailing among Christians 
then and there. Thus the vast cathedrals of Europe 
were constructed at extravagant cost, in adaptation to 
the pomp of ceremonious worship. Also, the abbeys 
and monasteries of Roman Catholic countries em- 
body the monastic ideas which they were expected 
to enthrone and perpetuate. In contrast with such 
edifices, the plain and cheap structures erected in this 
country as the initial houses of worship, marked the 
comparative poverty and yet the earnest religious 
purposes of the inhabitants of a new and open- 
ing country, whereas the elegant and commodious 
churches now erected and being erected all over the 
American continent, not only show great increase in 
the wealth of the people, but that large portions of 
that wealth are consecrated to the honor of God and 
the welfare of humanity. 

When American churches of the most approved 
kind are compared with those of other countries, it is 
found that while less attention has been paid to mass- 



SACRED USES OF A CHURCH. 529 

iveness of structure and grandeur of proportions, yet 
a degree of elegance has been attained worthy of the 
best periods of architecture. What is still more to 
be valued, this elegance has been combined with an 
amount of convenience and adaptation to practical 
purposes never before known in any country. Thus 
it is that the material progress and the mechanical 
inventions of modern times are made subservient to 
the interests of the Christian Church. It therefore 
becomes important for pastors to know what real im- 
provements are, and to take the necessary measures 
to have them secured in Church enterprises originat- 
ing or being prosecuted under their administration. 
It is scarcely possible to overestimate the sacredness 
and importance of the interests involved in the erec- 
tion of even a single church edifice. A Christian 
church is to be regarded as a temple of the living 
God, designed to stand as a permanent and visible 
witness to the claims and authority of the unseen but 
ever-present Creator. As a place of worship it will 
invite present and future generations to acts of prayer 
and praise, in which the Lord Jesus Christ will be in 
the midst of those who are gathered in his name, and 
the blessed Comforter will 

" Come down their souls to greet, 
While glory crowns the mercy-seat." 

As a place of instruction it will afford opportunities 
for old and young to study the law of the Lord and 
to hear the word of his grace as proclaimed in the 
glorious gospel. As a sanctuary it will be the scene 
of successive commemorations of the Lord's death and 
of the admission of members to the Church of Christ 

45 



530 CHURCH EXTENSIO^r. 

through the ordinance of baptism. In scenes of 
mourning it will be the house of consolation to the 
afflicted, while many who have ended the pilgrimage 
of life will be borne from within its walls to their 
resting-place in the grave. But highest and best of 
all distinctions, it may attain the predicted glory of 
Zion, so that in its history it may be said, " This and 
that man was born in her : and the Highest himself 
shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when he 
writeth up the people, that this man was born there." 
Ps. Ixxxvii, 5, 6. Thus, by the manifestations of his 
grace, God may be expected to glorify the house of 
his earthly glory, and to hallow it as a means of 
preparation for an everlasting dwelling-place in the 
"house not made with hands eternal in the heavens." 

In addition to the great amount of local church build- 
ing that requires the attention of pastors in commu- 
nities able to provide for their own religious wants, 
church extension in frontier settlements and in vari- 
ous communities where help is needed has come to be 
regarded as an important enterprise of general Chris- 
tian benevolence. In behalf of this enterprise, as well 
as that of missions, pastors should regard it as both a 
privilege and a duty to act by encouraging liberality in 
their congregations, and by promoting wherever they 
can large donations and legacies. By enlightened and 
co-operative effort of this kind the Churches of the 
present day may not only promote their own essen- 
tial welfare, but lay broad and deep foundations for 
the extension and establishment of Christianity in 
generations to come. 

This, however, like every other Christian work, should 



PERSE VERA NCE. 5 3 1 

be done, not through the prompting of denomina- 
tional rivalry or for the gratification of churchly pride, 
but with an eye single to the glory of God. While it 
may be conceded that church edifices properly con- 
structed and used will exert an important aesthetic and 
educational influence upon individuals and communi- 
ties, yet pastors should avoid any reliance on inter- 
mediate agencies as a substitute for the direct influ- 
ence of the truth and spirit of God. As auxiliaries 
to spiritual worship and agencies for the furtherance 
of Christian truth, churches are of the highest value, 
and to be secured by all reasonable efforts, yet when 
by any deflection from the theory of a spiritual Chris- 
tianity, such agencies come to take the place of divinely 
appointed means of salvation, they become a curse 
rather than a blessing, ministering to profitless forms 
and ceremonies rather than to the power of grace 
and truth. Hence pastors should not only seek to 
build churches, but to make them instrumentalities of 
spiritual good to all who come within their influence. 

All that has thus been said in reference to the 
building of churches applies, in its measure, to the 
corresponding enterprise of erecting and furnishing 
parsonages, which is to be regarded as an important 
feature of the system of itinerancy. 

Enough has already been accomplished in this 
enterprise to demonstrate both its general feasibility 
and the fact that if generally carried out the chief 
inconveniences of the itinerancy would be obviated. 
The responsibility, therefore, both of Churches and 
pastors for timely and persevering eflbrts in this 
department will be evident to all reflecting minds. 



532 CHRISTIANITY ASSOCIA TIVE. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE PASTOR'S ECCLESIASTICAL RELATIONS. 

WITH the progress of Christianity in different 
countries, and during successive ages, various 
forms of Church pohty have been developed. It is 
not necessary here to describe them, nor to discuss in 
detail their respective merits. The fact is apparent 
that at the present day every intending pastor must 
become associated with some system of Church effort, 
or depend upon his own exertions to found a Church 
and maintain a congregation. 

This latter course has occasionally succeeded for a 
time, but the lesson of history is that absolute inde- 
pendency is very short-lived. Those theorists who 
take the most extreme ground in its favor, soon find 
that a lack of union is a lack of power. Hence 
even they usually resort to some form of association 
as a means of increasing and perpetuating influ- 
ence. Otherwise the results of individual effort soon 
disappear. Practical Christianity is associative. It 
demands unity of action as well for the good of indi- 
viduals as of the Church. But as the efficiency of 
united action is subject to various conditions, such as 
contiguity of residence, harmony of views, and even 
the magnitude of associations themselves, the subdi- 



ELEMENTS OF CHURCH PROSPERITY, 533 

vision of the general Church into branches and indi- 
vidual Churches, is not to be regarded as in itself an 
evil any more than the subdivision of a nation into 
States, and of communities into families, or of an 
army into minor organizations. In either case inhar- 
mony, oppositions, or strifes between members of the 
same body, are productive of great evils. That such 
evils have often prevailed, and do now exist in the 
Christian Church, can not be denied. Their true 
remedy, however, is to be found in a more devout 
allegiance to the great Head of the Church, and the' 
general prevalence of that brotherly love which is the 
essential characteristic of all true Christians, rather 
than in any prescribed system of ecclesiastical con- 
formity. 

While different doctrinal opinions have their in- 
fluence, both upon men and systems, it can not be 
doubted that the different systems of ecclesiastical 
economy now prevalent in Christian Churches corre- 
spond with considerable accuracy to certain great 
classes of temperament Vv^hich prevail in society. How 
far, therefore, the existence of different Church organ- 
izations within the pale of a common Christianity is, 
from time to time, a benefit or injury to the common 
cause, depends upon the prevalence or absence of mu- 
tual conformity to the mind and character of Christ in 
the prosecution of their common work. No extent of 
nominal unity, from which the spirit of love and labor 
is wanting, can be considered advantageous, and no 
minuteness of subdivision which actually contributes 
to higher mutual regard and greater freedom and 
efficiency of action can be regretted. The grand and 



534 ^ PASTOR'S OBLIGATIONS. 

perpetual desideratum is unity of heart and hand for 
the accomphshment of the cardinal objects of the 
Christian Church. That this desideratum is possible 
of attainment, in a far greater degree than it usually 
has been attained, none can doubt, and for this ob- 
ject ministers and Churches ought every-where to 
strive, as for a most important auxiliary means of dif- 
fusing and strengthening the kingdom of Christ upon 
earth. This prevailing purpose will have a whole- 
some influence in softening asperities that have been 
inherited from less favored times, and its full consum- 
mation will leave but little to be desired as to out- 
ward agencies for promoting Christianity in the earth. 
When universal love shall prevail, and Christian or- 
ganizations of all forms shall co-operate fraternally to 
promote the glory of a common Redeemer, it will be 
found that external variety in the kingdom of grace 
need be no more out of harmony with essential unity 
than it is in the realm of nature. 

To do his full share toward bringing about so de- 
sirable a consummation is worthy of the ambition of 
every Christian pastor. In endeavoring to realize it, 
as well as in seeking to do the most he can for the 
conversion of sinners and the edification of believers, 
it will be proper for him to consider suitably the eccle- 
siastical relations he proposes to form. If he wishes 
to go to the bottom of the subject, he may inquire 
whether he can hope to do as much for the cause of 
Christ by separation, and any form of individual ac- 
tion, as by union with some organized branch of the 
Church. If from any peculiarity of views or feelings 
he should deem the former to be his course of duty, 



CHURCH RELATIONS VOLUNTARY. 535 

and should therefore undertake to add another to ex- 
isting Church organizations, the only consistent course 
he can adopt will be to recruit his hearers and co- 
laborers exclusively from the world, and not to follow 
the example of most separatists in striving to detach 
members from Churches already formed, and thus 
further divide the body of Christ. If, however, he 
finds it most consistent with his religious aims, and 
most congenial with his Christian sympathies to join 
his efforts with those of Christians already organized 
and efficiently acting in behalf of the cause of Christ, 
he should do so intelligently, and upon a basis of 
action which time will not shake nor circumstances 
disturb. 

Some men inherit their ecclesiastical relations as 
they do their names, and if satisfied with their por- 
tion as that of a goodly inheritance, they may be con- 
tent with their lot. Others have imposed upon them 
the necessity of choice, which, whatever may have 
been their previous views or predilections, they should 
at a proper time make intelligently and for life. P'or, 
while the liberty of choice in this matter must be 
freely conceded, changes and disruptions of relations 
once established are of more than doubtful propriety .- 
Indeed, unless based upon radical changes of views, or 
upon the practical apostasy of the Church itself, they 
are to be discountenanced, as neither friendly to per- 
sonal integrity nor promotive of general good. 

Having made a satisfactory choice of ecclesiastical 
connections, inclusive of Church government and ad- 
ministration, a minister should thenceforth be true to 
the system he adopts. While it may be admitted 



536 THE QUESTION OF SETTLEMENTS, 

that every system has some peculiar advantages, it 
can hardly be claimed that any system of Church ad- 
ministration is free from disadvantages, at least from 
burdens. It is, therefore, neither honorable nor right 
to enjoy the advantages of a system and be unwilling 
to share its burdens. Neither is it manly to complain 
of burdens that are incident to great advantages, even 
though more obviously of a general than of a personal 
character. Without further remarks of a general bear- 
ing, it will now be assumed that many of the readers 
of this volume have chosen to associate themselves 
with a form of Church polity in which itiner- 

Itinerancy. r i i i • i ■ 

ancy, as a system lor the regular and periodic 
distribution of ministerial labor, is a characteristic 
feature. Reference to the nature and advantages of 
such a system having been made in Chapter viii, and 
the objection that such a system is fatal to pastoral 
duty and influence having been refuted in Chapter xvi, 
some additional views of the subject will now be pre- 
sented. 

1. While the system of ministerial itinerancy does 
not claim to be strictly modeled after Scriptural ex- 
ample, it, nevertheless, does claim to be in harmony 
with the practice of Christ and his apostles, among 
whom the idea of a life -long residence in any one 
place was unknown. 

2. The itinerancy, as it is practiced in Methodist 
Churches, is adapted to certain general character- 
istics of humanity, and especially to the circum- 
stances of modern society. As may be seen from the 
foregoing allusion to apostolic example, the common 
assumption that a settled ministry is the normal and 



CHANGES DESIRABLE FOR MINISTERS, 537 

most desirable condition of ministerial supply, is with- 
out foundation. Nor would it be difficult to show 
that attempts to establish it as the habit of Churches 
have been more in accordance with the spirit of ease 
than of labor; of personal convenience than of sacri- 
fice for the general good. Hence, it seems not harsh 
to infer that it has been a hinderance rather than a 
help to Christian progress. In America, where it 
has been on trial apart from State patronage, it has, 
in a comparatively short period, become nearly obso- 
lete, having fallen into practical disuse as a result of 
its own operations. 

The plan of permanent ministerial settlements was 
introduced into this country by the Pilgrims of New 
England, whose descendants, as well as various other 
denominations, still adhere to it in theory, although in 
practice it is maintained by none of them, except in a 
few rare cases. The following statement, recently 
published by an advocate of long settlements, will be 
recognized as a truthful exhibit of facts known to 
exist in the class of denominations he represents : 

" People are getting used to the transfer of pastors from one 
parish to another. Fifty years ago, when a minis- -j-he parochial 
ter was installed, it was considered a life-long set- relation— its in- 
tlement, and the idea of change was about as stability. 
hazardous as for a farmer to sell his paternal inheritance, pull 
up stakes, and go to the West. But now people get tired of the 
minister, or the minister gets tired of them. A particular friend 
of the pastor says, in a whisper, to another of his friends, 'It 
seems to me our Church would flourish more by a different style 
of preaching ; do n't you think so ?' The mere suggestion starts 
a new train of thought, and soon there are a good many whis- 
pers to the same effect. At length the thing gets to the minis- 
ter's ears, and determines him to send in his resignation, and 
cast about for a new location. The parish have a meeting and 



538 DEMAND FOR VARIETY. 

reluctantly accept his resignation, pass resolutions of high com- 
mendation and deep regret, and then proceed to look out for 
a more popular man. On the other hand, the minister some- 
times takes the vantage-ground and moves first. Parochial life 
is thus fast becoming a system of itinerancy, so that what the 
Methodists have done from policy all the rest have done from 
necessity." 

Thus it has already come to pass that the average 
term of ministerial service in Churches theoretically 
in favor of long pastorates is actually shorter than in 
Churches which prefer pastorates of limited but regu- 
lar terms of duration. This state of things may be 
accounted for by the mental constitution of our race. 
The human mind becomes wearied and enervated with 
perpetual sameness. To this characteristic of human- 
ity, external nature is adapted in the ceaseless alterna- 
tions of day and night, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and 
Winter, and their varying phenomena. But not wholly 
satisfied with these periodic changes, all persons who 
can, usually seek to further diversify life by more or 
less frequent changes of place and scene. Hence, the 
general practice and the universally recognized pleas- 
ures of travel, in behalf of which modern inventive- 
ness and enterprise tax themselves to the utmost. 
The phase of human nature under consideration has 
an important bearing upon the moral and spiritual 
necessities of mankind, corresponding to which diver- 
sities of gifts are employed in the work of the minis- 
try. It is not, therefore, to be expected that the 
highest degree of moral or religious interest will be 
secured by the indefinite continuance of any one min- 
ister in any particular community. No one then need 
wonder that the felt wants of Churches in respect to 



DRAWBACKS TO SETTLEMENTS. 539 

variety of ministerial talent rises superior to theories 
and demands such changes in pastoral service as 
promise adaptation to the varied temperaments and 
conditions represented in nearly all communities. 
Nor is it less true, although less generally recognized, 
that changes of scenes and circumstances on the part 
of ministers are essential to the full development of 
ministerial power and usefulness. An annual vaca- 
tion or an occasional trip abroad fail to answer the 
requisition. Although somewhat of the same char- 
acter, they are more in the line of diversion than of 
work ; whereas men, like plants, frequently thrive best 
after transplantation. The principle involved was neg- 
atively indicated by the Savior himself when he said, 
" a prophet is not without honor save in his own 
country." 

Much of the regret expressed in some quarters at 
the present rarity of long pastorates is quite needless. 
In former times, when they were common, Drawbacks to 
length was frequently their chief commen- settlement. 
dation. Small and obscure parishes often cramped 
and dwarfed fine intellects, while large and important 
Churches were made to bear a life-long incubus of 
mediocrity at least. So far from having been favora- 
ble to thorough study, as many have supposed, these 
long pastorates often produced the opposite result. 
" The condition itself produced a routine, tread-mill 
life. Extensive intercourse with the world was want- 
ing. Week in and week out the mind ground divinity 
of other days. There was little fresh importation of 
life, and thought, and feeling, from without. The sur- 
roundings underwent little change. As a natural 



540 HARDSHIPS OF ITINERANCY. 

result the manners became stiff, the style of thought 
rigid, the sermons and lectures, in their composition 
and delivery, without emotion, and the whole Church 
service was a form, often cold and dead." 

Hence, it is neither wonderful nor lamentable that 
with the quickening society has received from modern 
improvements, by which life and energy have been 
carried into the remotest parts of the land, and large 
masses of population have been set in motion like a 
tide spreading over our continent, that ministers have 
found it necessary to move also. Whatever the local 
or general cause, the certainty of frequent ministerial 
changes is now conceded ; and the question of accept- 
ing or rejecting an itinerant system is simply between 
having those changes made regularly or irregularly, 
easily and pleasantly, or by the painful process of 
forced dismissals when the people are dissatisfied, 
or by unwelcome resignations when the pastor has an 
offer of a higher salary, which he usually accepts as 
a call to a higher field of usefulness. 

3. While a system of itinerancy imposes some hard- 
ships upon both pastors and people, it secures to both 
still greater advantages. Conceding all that may be 
justly said of the undesirableness of frequent removals, 
the necessity of often separating from dear friends, 
and of forming new attachments, as well as of some- 
times living among people and in places not agreea- 
ble ; granting that trials and hardships in these and 
other forms have to be encountered in the itineranc}^, 
it may still be claimed that they are small compared 
with the higher interests of the Church, which the 
true pastor seeks to promote at any personal sacrifice. 



ADVA NTA GES. 5 4 1 

He does not enter the holy ministry as a means of seek- 
ing ease or comfort, but as a means of doing good to 
the souls of men, and that mode of life which will enable 
him to do the greatest good to the greatest number 
is to him the most attractive. He recognizes the fact 
that not a whole life-time is required to discharge his 
whole duty to individuals or a community, but having 
discharged that duty faithfully in one place it is his 
privilege to go to other individuals and communities. 
Very rare are the opportunities in which a pastor can 
hope to reach and benefit as many souls by settling 
down and remaining fixed in some one place as by 
going forth 

" To seek the wandering souls of men." 

The itinerancy establishes a golden mean between 
a pilgrimage and a settlement. It introduces him to 
any community to which he is sent in the character 
of a citizen, although his residence may continue but 
a single year, or at most but three consecutive years. 
On this plan it gives him facilities for making full 
proof of his ministry, both as a preacher and a pastor, 
during even a single year, and prompts him to dili- 
gent exertions in order to accomplish all he can year 
by year, and thus be prepared for other fields in their 
turn. One has only to make a just comparison be- 
tween the largest opportunities of a pastor settled for 
a period, say of forty years, in the same parish with 
those of an itinerant pastor, who in the same period 
has had charge of twenty or more different Churches 
on an average of two years each, to form some idea 
of the vastly wider sphere of influence occupied by 
the latter. 



542 PLEASURES. 

It may be granted that changes will take place in 
the most quiet neighborhood. People will come and 
go, but only gradually, and rarely with any of those 
noticeable changes which relieve the monotony of 
pastoral labor. Whereas a single removal to a new 
field will accomplish a change greater than is often 
witnessed in any one Church or community in a life- 
time. Thus it is that every new field of labor offers 
new opportunities of usefulness. The faults and errors 
of a previous term of service may be avoided. Sundry 
disUkes, which in the best of circumstances will some- 
times accumulate against a pastor, are left behind in 
his removal. All his surroundings are changed. He 
finds a new stimulus to reach a higher point of ex- 
cellence and usefulness. His comparatively short 
stay among the people crowds every thing to a focus. 
What he does he must do quickly, and with his might. 
The spirit of his mission gives him inspiration ; and 
his messages come as from God to the people. 

No system develops men like this. The intelli- 
gent, observing itinerating minister becomes conver- 
sant with society. He has an opportunity to study 
men. He mingles with all the professions. He 
comes in contact with every condition of mind and 
heart. Studying the human mind and passions as he 
has the opportunity to do, he learns how to lead all 
classes of mind and heart to God. He, above all 
others, should be a workman that needeth not to be 
ashamed. Added to all this, as a result of his re- 
movals, he is able to maintain variety as a preacher, 
to secure time to become a thorough student in the- 
ology, and to make himself tolerably well acquainted 



PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS. 543 

with general literature and the reading of the day. 
He that does not do this is wanting in the aspira- 
tions necessary to make him an able minister of the 
New Testament. 

As an offset to the alleged hardships of the itiner- 
ancy it is well to consider the pleasures of the itiner- 
ancy, such as new fields, new friends, and none of 
the old ones lost, a full scope in city and country, and 
equally at home in each, with ever-enlarging spheres 
of access to souls listening to the word as in view of 
the judgment. As these considerations have a corre- 
sponding reflex bearing upon the welfare and activity 
of Churches, it seems not hazardous to affirm that the 
Churches which shall maintain the best-regulated 
system of ministerial itinerancy will most influence 
for good the people of the coming generations, and 
hold them with the firmest grasp.* 

Without further illustrating the principles or the 
system of ministerial itinerancy it will be proper to 
consider some of the obligations of those who volun- 
tarily place themselves in relations with such a sys- 
tem and the persons who are connected with it. It 
is obvious that whatever system of ecclesiastical policy 
a minister may see fit to adopt, he should be true to 
it both in spirit and in practice. Propriety and honor 
alike forbid that a person attaching himself to a sys- 
tem chiefly designed to promote the good of the 
Church should ask to have that system administered 
for his personal convenience ; still more that he 
should complain of the system if he should find him- 
self occasionally inconvenienced. On the other hand, 

* Adapted from Christian Advocate. 



544 OFFICIAL OBLIGATIONS, 

the principle of enduring hardness as a good soldier, 
and bearing cheerfully one's share of the burdens of 
a common cause, is far nobler and conducive to better 
results. 

Members of an Annual Conference are bound to- 
gether by strong ties of mutual obligation and confi- 
dence. They have innumerable opportunities of doing 
each other good in the very act of promoting the 
good of the Churches they severally serve. Thus in 
securing the erection and furnishing of parsonages, 
in the provision and replenishing of Church libraries, 
by kind words preparing the way for their successors, 
and in many other ways, they can happily illustrate the 
Golden Rule, and in their turn prove its value. It is 
not proposed here to treat of the obligations and 
amenities due from ministers to each other in the 
transaction of the official business of the Church any 
further than to say that the well-defined provisions of 
the Discipline, administered in the spirit of our Sav- 
ior's command, " Whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them," will leave 
little to be desired in the way of promoting mutual 
happiness and fraternal confidence. 

It is well, however, to remember that fraternal obli- 
gations rise superior to those which are purely ecclesi- 
astical. Hence there are many modes in which a true 
brotherly regard as between ministers of the same 
Church may enable them to do each other good. 
The aged may impart the benefit of their experience 
and counsel to the young, while younger ministers 
may by their zeal and vivacity quicken those of ad- 
vanced years. Those who have enjoyed higher advan- 



MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATIONS. 545 

tages of scholarship, of observation, or of travel, may 
find pleasure as well as opportunities of peculiar use- 
fulness in prompting the inquiries and guiding the 
investigations of their junior brethren, while all may 
happily contribute to each other's advancement in piety 
and in the art of holy living. 

Ministers' meetings and associations, having such 
objects in view, are to be highly commended. When 
made occasions for gossip, for trivial conversation, for 
a routine of ceremonies, or for acrimonious debate, 
they should be avoided as wasteful of time and dissi- 
pating to the mind and the better feelings. It may 
therefore be suggested, that whenever preachers' meet- 
ings or District Ministerial Associations are estab- 
lished they should be governed by strict rules, and 
that their exercises should be planned with a supreme 
reference to mutual improvement, in reference to all 
the higher phases of ministerial and Christian expe- 
rience. As the latter class of associations are usually 
formed in country districts, and involve travel and ab- 
sence from home for a few days in the middle of the 
week, it is highly proper for pastors' wives to accom- 
pany their husbands, both to profit by the public 
exercises of such occasions, and to secure opportuni- 
ties of meeting each other for purposes of mutual 
acquaintance, encouragement, and improvement. 

The itinerancy of Methodism establishes a class of 
peculiar ecclesiastical relations, denominated connec- 
tional. They are sustained by the presiding elders 
and bishops of the Church. Ministers holding the 
offices referred to are pastors, but in a relation differ- 
ent from that of the overseer of a particular flock. 

46 



546 CONNECTION A L RELATIONS. 

They have the more general oversight of a number, 
not only of Churches, but of the pastors of those 
Churches, and are charged with the responsibility of 
supplying pastoral vacancies. While their relations 
to particular Churches and their several members are 
less direct and intimate than those of the local pas- 
tors, they are nevertheless highly important, and in- 
vested with great religious responsibility. Both these 
offices are episcopal in character, the former having 
superintendence of a diocese of moderate extent, and 
the latter of the Churches of the entire ecclesiastical 
connection. As presiding elders and bishops are, by 
virtue of. their office, pastors of pastors, as well 
as occasional visitants and teachers of particular 
flocks, they occupy positions of almost illimitable 
influence for good, from which those enjoying the 
benefit of their counsels should always be anxious 
to profit. 

However intimate and important the relations ex- 
isting between ministers of the same Church and 
fellow-members of the same itinerant compact, they 
are by no means exclusive of cordial and fraternal 
attachments to ministers of other Churches and rep- 
resentatives of other ecclesiastical bodies. Indeed, as 
various Churches co-exist in nearly every community, 
it is one of the peculiar responsibilities of all pastors 
to cultivate friendship and brotherly love toward 
neighboring pastors, and thus do all in their power to 
promote kind feelings and friendly co-operation be- 
tween different Churches and their members. Such 
a course is not only of great value to the common 
interests of Christianity, but conducive, in the high- 



RELATIONS TO NEIGHBORING PASTORS. 547 

est degree, to the mutual happiness of pastors them- 
selves. Whereas, mutual jealousies and coldness, not 
to speak of contentions and strifes between the pas- 
tors of different Churches, are a reproach to those 
who cause them, and an injury to the sacred interests 
of Christ's kingdom. There is no narrowness more 
pitiable than that of religious bigotry, and no mean- 
ness more contemptible than that of ecclesiastical 
pretension and exclusiveness, while true nobleness is 
always illustrated by Christian charity. The latter 
virtue needs not only to be cherished in the heart, 
but to have due forms of expression in life and con- 
duct. Where it really exists it will be manifested in 
the courtesies due from one minister to another, as in 
friendly calls, pulpit exchanges and union meetings, 
both of a social and public character, all of which 
may receive sufficient attention without hindering the 
full discharge of a pastor's individual duties. It is a 
happy omen of the present day that true Christian 
charity is becoming more fully illustrated than it has 
sometimes been, as between different ministers and 
Churches, and it especially devolves on the pastors of 
this favored period to do what they can toward ren- 
dering practical, for the common advantage of Chris- 
tianity, a sentiment which needs exemplification in 
every community in which they live. The man who, 
by undue reserve, haughtiness of manner, or by man- 
ifestations of bigotry and exclusiveness, repels Chris- 
tian fellowship and hinders fraternal co-operation, is 
a sorry specimen of what a Christian pastor ought 
to be. Fortunately, the spirit of the present age is 
competent to gauge the littleness of such a man, and 



548 TO PASTORAL SUCCESSION. 

of any system he may assume to represent. In fact, 
the just position of botli in the scale of public influ- 
ence is so very low as rarely to be saved from con- 
tempt. 

In addition to a pastor's obligation to his Church 
and to his fellow-laborers already in the ministry, 
there devolves on him the pleasant duty and the pecu- 
liar privilege of encouraging and directing young men 
who are called to a similar service, and thus of doing 
his share toward providing for the ministerial suc- 
cession of the future. The thought that the young 
persons who receive instruction from his lips may 
live to give similar instructions to representatives of 
successive generations after his departure from earth, 
is cheering to any gospel laborer. Useful Christians 
in every sphere of Church activity may have a share 
in this joy, but none to so great an extent as the 
faithful pastor. His position at the head of the 
Church and Sunday-school gives him the largest op- 
portunity of access to those from among whom fu- 
ture ministers may be expected to be raised up, while 
it will naturally lead them to seek his advice and fol- 
low his counsel. It is to be feared that this respon- 
sibility of pastors is too much overlooked, together 
with that of enlisting the prayers of the Church that 
the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers 
into his harvest. These are appointed agencies by 
which a true Church is to be perpetuated in the 
earth, and certainly no true minister of the Lord Jesus 
Christ should be indifferent to them. 



OBSTACLES, 549 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

PASTORAL DIFFICULTIES, TRIALS, AND ENCOURAGE- 
MENTS. 

SINCE difficulties are incident to all human cir- 
cumstances, pastors must expect to encounter 
their full share. In fact, when they consider that 
religious faithfulness will make it necessary for them 
to rebuke and endeavor to counteract all the evil pas- 
sions and tendencies of men, they need not think it 
strange if they have to encounter more and greater 
difficulties than are the lot of most persons. 

Since, moreover, they are human, it is well for them 
to be watchful lest some of their most em- 
barrassing difficulties are found in them- 
selves. Of the internal obstacles to their own highest 
success of which pastors may sometimes be painfully 
conscious, it may be sufficient to name imperfection 
of judgment, weakness of faith, and fondness of ease. 
That pastors, like other men, are also liable to temp- 
tation and to fall through moral exposure and the fatal 
arts of designing persons, becomes an additional rea- 
son why they should hedge themselves about with a 
double guard of watchfulness, prayer, and conscious 
dependence on God, lest they fail of attaining the high 
objects to which their life is devoted, through some 
defect in their own life or character. 



550 WORK DEMANDED. 

Obstacles from without are to be found in the in- 
difference of many, the worldliness of some, 

External. . . r ^ '-r«i 

and the opposition of others. The excite- 
ments of business and of politics, and the fascinations 
of amusements, and of society, together with the nat- 
ural opposition of the human heart to the claims of 
spiritual religion, conspire together to divert attention 
from sacred things, and to neutralize the power of 
good impressions that from time to time may be made. 
These opposing influences are not always equally ac- 
tive, or combined in the same form or degree, but 
every zealous minister must prepare to encounter 
them in some form. Instead, however, of being dis- 
couraged on that account he should remember that 
did they not exist, there would be, practically, no call 
for his services. Workmen are not wanted where 
there is nothing to do. 

The whole theory of the Christian ministry, as 
represented in the New Testament, is that of labor. 
Scriptural "labor in word and doctrine," "labor and 

idea. travail," " labor of love," " labor and pa- 

tience," also work, "work of the ministry," "work of 
faith," and ''work of an evangelist." Corresponding 
to these ideas every pastor should strive to be a " la- 
borer together with God," and " a workman that need- 
eth not to be ashamed." In this character and by 
divine help, he may expect to overcome obstacles, 
vanquish difficulties, and become more than conqueror 
through Him that hath loved him and called him with 
a holy calling ! 

But even though this result may be attained, the 
pastor can not expect to be free from trials. Trials 



TRIALS MANIFOLD. 5 5 I 

are a part of the earthly discipline of humanity, from 
which neither Christians nor ministers are exempt. 
The latter, therefore, may expect trials — 
trials of their faith, trials of their patience, 
trials of their hope, trials of their fidelity, and, in short, 
trials of all their graces and talents. Notwithstand- 
ing their best efforts and the purest lives, they will be 
subject to misapprehension and misrepresentation. 
Though faithful to the last degree, they will at times 
be pained with the languor, coldness, and even the 
spiritual deadness of the Church. Sometimes they 
will be saddened by heart-breaking apostasies and 
horrified with death-bed scenes which seem to take 
them to the very portals of perdition. Often they 
will be humiliated with the failure of their best efforts 
and the disappointment of their most sanguine hopes 
to win souls and to maintain the peace and purity of the 
Church. Sometimes they will find themselves bur- 
dened almost beyond endurance with the claims made 
upon their time and attention by persons who are 
either thoughtless, impertinent, or perverse. Some- 
times they will be wearied to exhaustion in the dis- 
charge of their legitimate duties. Superadded to in- 
numerable trials of the classes indicated may be that 
of scanty and irregular support, and the burdens of 
growing or afflicted families placed in unfavorable cir- 
cumstances, and cut off from many privileges which 
the husband and father is conscious he might have 
secured for them by secular engagements. 

It does not lessen the severity of these trials to 
know that some of them might be easily relieved or 
prevented by persons who profess and who ought to 



552 CO UNTERA CTED B V FOR TITUDE. 

be the pastor's sincere friends. Nevertheless, there 
is a sort of negative consolation in knowing that these 
trials are scarcely greater than fall to the average lot 
of humanity in some other form. But far better than 
this is the positive consolation found in " casting all 
our care on Him that careth for us," in the unwaver- 
ing assurance that " God shall supply all our need 
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 

Having so many exceeding great and precious prom- 
ises written for our encouragement, we ought not to 
be cumbered with serving, or to be careful about many 
things. Least of all should a pastor allow himself to 
magnify his trials, or morbidly dwell upon them, as 
though some strange thing had happened to him. 
Far better is it to meet his necessary or unavoidable 
trials manfully, and in the strength of grace, and thus 
diminish their force, if not wholly destroy their power 
by the Christian courage with which they are encoun- 
tered. While no considerate person could ever have 
expected that the great objects of the Christian min- 
istry could be accomplished without severe labors, and 
a certain measure of trials, yet whoever, in obedience 
to the heavenly mandate, has set his heart on the 
accomplishment of those objects, will have learned to 
say with the apostle : " None of these things move 
me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that 
I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry 
which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify 
the gospel of the grace of God." Acts xx, 24. 
Encourage- Ncverthelcss, it is proper for every min- 
ments. jg^-^j. ^^ fortify his miud and strengthen his 

heart by a just consideration of the encouragements 



GLORIOUS AIMS AND ENGAGEMENTS. 553 

in which as a faithful servant of God he is entitled 
to share. Such encouragements are numerous, and 
of the most exalted character. The more important 
of them may be indicated in connection with the nat- 
ure of the ministerial and pastoral work, the results 
of that work in time, and its rewards in eternity. 

1. The moral dignity and the sacred objects of a 
true minister's work are of themselves sufficient to 
buoy him up against all ordinary discouragements, 
and to inspire him with a confidence not easily baffled 
or shaken. 

" His duties and pursuits are distinguished from all others by 
their immediate relation to the ultimate end of human existence; 
so that while secular employments can only be rendered inno- 
cent by an extreme care to avoid the pollutions which they are 
so liable to contract, the ministerial functions bear an indelible 
impress of sanctity." "How much of heaven is naturally con- 
nected with an office whose sole business it is to conduct man 
thither!" " What an honor to be employed as the instrument 
of conducting that mysterious process by which men are born 
of God; to expel from the heart the venom of the old serpent; 
to purge the conscience from invisible stains of guilt; to release 
the passions from the bondage of corruption, and invite them to 
soar aloft into the regions of uncreated light and beauty !" " In 
our profession the full force and vigor of tlie mind may be ex- 
erted on that which will employ it forever ; on religion, the final 
center of repose ; the goal to which all things tend, which gives 
to time all its importance, to eternity all its glory ; apart from 
which man is a shadow, his very existence a riddle, and the stu- 
pendous scenes which surround him as incoherent and unmean- 
ing as the leaves which the Sybil scattered in the wind."* 

2. Not only from the design, but from the actual 
results of ministerial labor may the laborer be en- 
couraged. It is not necessary for him to limit his 

* Robert Hall. 
47 



554 GLORIOUS BUT MINGLED RESULTS. 

view to the results of his personal efforts. He is at 
liberty to consider himself as one of many 

Morals. ^ "^ . , _ ^ 

workers m the vineyard of the Lord, and 
his exertions as a part of a great organized system of 
effort for the present and eternal welfare of humanity. 
If faithful to the trust committed to him, though it be 
only that of standing sentinel in some obscure and 
lonely outpost of Zion, he is entitled to share in the 
glory and the triumph of the whole army of the Lord 
to which he belongs. While no one should suffer his 
sense of personal responsibility to be diminished, in 
the idea that general success is certain, yet every one 
who is conscious of doing all he can in the work of the 
ministry may be encouraged by the assurance that, 
even in the present life, his labor is not in vain in 
the Lord. The results of ministerial labor appear in 
every phase of enlightened society by which it is ele- 
vated above the wretchedness and degradation of bar- 
barism. The checking of vice and immorality, the 
conservation of virtue, the enlightenment and educa- 
tion of the public conscience, the creation and control 
of public opinion on moral questions, are all legitimate 
and important results of the faithful ministration of 
the word and ordinances of the gospel in any and in 
all communities. These influences have a direct bear- 
ing upon the enactment and administration of laws, 
and upon whatever enters into the welfare 
of States as well as of individuals, and yet 
they are only the beginning, the preparation indeed, 
of the peculiar work of the ministry. When commu- 
nities are leavened with the morality of the gospel 
they are only just prepared to receive the full power 



ENCOURAGING EXPERIENCES. 555 

of its religious influence. The religious results of 
ministerial labor are seen outwardly in the erection 
of Christian temples, which invite the people to wor- 
ship, and offer instruction to them and to their chil- 
dren. They may also be seen in the found- Religious b- 
ing of Sunday-schools, which become nuclei ^titutions. 
of other Churches, and in all those schemes of prac- 
tical Christian benevolence by which the wretched- 
ness of mankind is alleviated, and young and old are 
admonished of their high responsibilities to their God 
and Judge. 

In the predominance or even prevalence of such 
influences, it is not difficult to see that humanity is 
improved in all its enjoyments and prospects. But 
most of all is the pastor cheered when he is per- 
mitted to see the work of righteousness accomplished 
in human hearts and the fruits of faith matured in 
human lives. When the impenitent are The salvation 
converted, when apostates are reclaimed, °f"^^"- 
when believers are matured in progressive experience 
and in holy living ; when moral wastes are made like 
Eden, and deserts of sin like the garden of the Lord ; 
when Zion is comforted and her courts made to re- 
sound with gladness, thanksgiving, and the voice of 
melody — what tongue can utter the joy of a pastor's 
heart ! 

Even though he may not always witness the full 
consummation of his desires as to these crowning 
results of his labor, he may have, even in his darkest 
hours, the consciousness of duty discharged and the 
confidence of trust that God will bring to pass at the 
appropriate time the good pleasure of his will, however 



556 THE HIGHEST DIGNITY. 

feeble the instrumentality employed for its accomplish- 
ment. 

However worldly men and scoffers may affect to 
despise the humble ministry of the cross of Christ, 
they who are charged with its duties and responsi- 
bilities may have the continual satisfaction of know- 
ing that their life is devoted to the noblest objects 
for which humanity can exist ; that in their efforts to 
do good they are associated with the very best of those 
who live or ever have lived upon the earth, and more 
than all, that they are actual co-workers with God. 
In their appropriate sphere they may adopt the lan- 
guage of the apostles, " In all things approving our- 
selves as the ministers of God." See 2 Cor. vi, 4-10. 
Before such privileges and rewards as these how 
insignificant are the honors of earth, how paltry its 
treasures, how mean its ambitions ! 

The pastor is often permitted to have demonstra- 
tion of the power of grace upon the human heart and 
of the efficacy of the truth he teaches, not only in 
the consistent lives of those who have been brought 
from darkness into light, and "from the bondage of 
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children 
of God," but also in the patient suffering and the tri- 
umphant departure of those whom he is permitted to 
accompany down the declivity of life, into the very 
gloom of the valley of the shadow of death. From 
this extreme point of earthly vision he is enabled to 
see with more clearness than from any other the supe- 
riority of the soul's interests above those of time or 
of sense. He is also enabled to comprehend how 
dismal would have been the condition of humanity 



PECULIAR CONSOLATIONS. 557 

without the religion of the Gospel, and how dark the 
history and prospects of this world without the min- 
istrations of Christianity. From such scenes and 
contemplations how unworthy to be mentioned appear 
the hardships and the trials which have to be encoun- 
tered in the accomplishment of the results at which 
the ministry aims ! Weak minds may dwell upon 
those hardships and weak faith may quail before the 
burdens, the toils, and the sacrifices which lie in the 
pathway of great ministerial usefulness, but courageous 
hearts will glory in them as crosses which need to be 
borne in order to win the crown of triumph. To such, 
even crosses are lightened by the purity and supe- 
riority of the joy which arises from the faithful dis- 
charge of ministerial duty. When Jesus said to his 
disciples, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of," 
he also explained to them, '' My meat is to do the will 
of him that sent me and to finish his work." * To 
that same glorious banquet he admits his faithful min- 
isters, and when sharers of its joy they are enabled to 
say to those who have become partakers with them of 
like precious faith, " Now we live if ye stand fast in 
the Lord."! "We have no greater joy than to hear 
that our children walk in the truth." % 

Thus it may be seen that while Christian pastors 
and teachers are not subjected to any greater trials 
and hardships than usually fall to the lot of other 
men ; while, in fact, they enjoy a happy immunity 
from the dangers, the contaminations, and the grovel- 
ings of worldly engagements, they are, at the same 
time, admitted to higher privileges, and permitted to 

*John iv, 31-34. \ I Thess. iii, 7-9. 12 John 4. 



558 HAPPY IMMUNITIES. 

toil for nobler objects, also with stronger assurances 
of success, since they "go not a warfare at their own 
charges," but can claim the promised presence and the 
divine aid of the Captain of their Salvation, who, from 
the beginning, said, " Lo, I am with you always, even 
unto the end of the world." 

3. While the foregoing views are sufficient to show 
the superiority of the Christian ministry to all other 
callings, and that its present rewards are not inferior 
to aught that earth can give, nevertheless the proper 
rewards of faithful pastors lie beyond the present life. 
In that certainty they may find encouragements to 
quicken their faith, and joys to overbalance their sor- 
rows, though it will only be when the Chief Shepherd 
shall appear as tlie judge of the quick and the dead that 
they " shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
away."* Then " they that be wise shall shine as the 
brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many 
to righteousness as the stars forever and ever."f In 
the light of such promises no one can fail to see the 
great superiority of heavenly over earthly rewards." 
He, therefore, who fixes his eye upon "the mark for 
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," 
may easily bear the light afflictions and brief trials of 
the present life in hope of the glory that shall follow. 
If, moreover, his glorious Leader shall vouchsafe to 
him encouragements by the way, he will thankfully 
receive them as an earnest of the higher joys and 
more enduring rewards that await him at the end of 
life's conflicts, when he hopes to receive the appro- 
bation of his divine Master : " Well done, good and 

* I Peter v, 4 t Daniel xii, 3. 



ETERNAL REWARDS. 559 

faithful servant," "enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord." 

Among the felicities of the everlasting glory of the 
Redeemer, will be that of having shared Heavenly com- 
the companionship of earthly toil, and P^"i°'^^hip. 
faith, and suffering for the cross and kingdom of 
Jesus. By it the minister of the gospel who shall 
have been faithful to his talent and his trust will be 
brought into perfected sympathy with the prophets, 
the apostles, the martyrs, and the accepted ministers 
of the truth in all ages. While eternity can never 
exhaust the delights of such a companionship, it may 
nevertheless be made more rapturous by the harvest- 
home of souls who shall appear as the gathered fruit 
of every individual's labor. Nor will the pastor then 
feel that his share of the triumph is limited to the di- 
rect results of his personal efforts. As Christ prayed 
not for his disciples alone, but for those who believe 
on him through their word, so each gospel laborer 
may expect to share in the glorious results of all the 
successful labors of all who are converted through his 
instrumentality and that of their successors to the 
end of time. But since " eye hath not seen nor ear 
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the 
things which God hath prepared for them that love 
Him," how can thought conceive or tongue utter the 
riches or the extent of those peculiar glories which 
await the sincere, the zealous, the obedient, and self- 
denying ministers of Jesus in the world to come ! 



APPENDIX 



No example of literary imposture has been more successful and at 
the same time more prejudicial to correct views of Church polity than 
that of the "Constitutions of the Holy Apostles," referred to on page 
89. Having been put forth at a period when literary criticism was 
unknown, and having been adroitly harmonized with the drift of cor- 
rupt practice then gaining currency in the Greek and Roman Churches, 
neither the literary nor the religious authority of this strange collection 
of documents was questioned for more than a thousand years. A few 
extracts are subjoined to indicate at once the literary character of the 
work and the influence it has wrought upon certain systems of eccle- 
siasticism not unknown at the present day : 

PRETENDED AUTHORSHIP. 

"The Apostles and Elders to all those who, from among the Gentiles, have believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ." Book /, § i. 

"We who are now assembled in our place, Peter and Andrew, James and John, 
sons of Zebedee, Philip and Barfliolomew, Thomas and Matthew, James the son ot 
Alpheus, and Lebbeus, who was surnamed Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and 
Matthias, who, instead of Judas, was numbered with us, James the brother of the 
Lord and Bishop of Jerusalem, and Paul the teacher of the Gentiles, the chosen 
vessel — all being present, have written to you this Catholic Doctrine for the confirmation 
of you to whom the oversight of the Church universal is committed." Book VI, § 14. 

PRETENDED ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIERARCHY. 

"As to those things which have happened among us ye, yourselves, are not ignorant. 
For ye know perfectly that those who are by us named Bishops, and Presbyters, and 
Deacons were made by prayer and by the laying on of hands, and that by the differ- 
ence of the names is indicated the difference of their employments. For not every one 
that will is ordained, as the case was in that spurious and counterfeit priesthood of the 
calves under Jeroboam. For if there were no rules or distinction of orders it would 
suffice to perform all the offices under one name. But being taught by the Lord the 
series of things, we distributed the functions of the High-Priesthood to the Bishojis, 
those of the Priesthood to the Presbyters, and the ministration under them both to the 
Deacons, that the divine worship might be performed in puritv. For it is not lawful 



562 APPENDIX. 

for a Deacon to offer the sacrifice, or to baptize, or to give the blessing, either small 
or great. Nor may a Presbyter perform ordination, for it is not agreeable to holiness 
to have order overturned. For such as these do not fight against us nor against the 
Bishops, but against the universal Bishop, even the High-Priest of the Father, Jesus 
Christ our Lord. High-Priests, Priests, and Levites were ordained by ISIoses, the 
most beloved of God. By our Savior we, the thirteen apostles, were ordained; and by 
the apostles St. James and St. Clement, and others with us, (that we may not make the 
catalogue of all those Bishops over again.) Moreover, by us all in common were or- 
dained Presbj-ters, and Deacons, and Sub-deacons, and Readers." Book VIII, § 46. 

AFFIRMATION OF PRIESTLY PREROGATIVES AND 
EMOLUMENTS. 

"Ye, therefore, at the present day, O Bishops, are to your people priests and 
Levites, ministering to the holy tabernacle, the holy Catholic Church ; who stand at 
the altar of the Lord your God and offer to him reasonable and unbloody sacrifices 
through Jesiis the great High-Priest. Ye are to the laity prophets, rulers, governors, 
and kings — the mediators between God and his faithful people, who receive and 
declare his word, well acquainted with the Scriptures. Ye are the voice of God and 
witnesses of his will, who bear the sins and intercede for all." Book II, § 25. 



B. 

BISHOP AMES ON COURTESY. 

"All who have bestowed a little attention upon society', who have marked the prog- 
ress that some men have made and others failed to make, will see that courtesy and 
good breeding have much to do with the successful mission of our lives, and nothing 
is little that either makes or mars the life-mission of a man or woman. Courtesy is 
a matter worthy of consideration, because it is explicitly taught and enjoined by the 
apostle. He, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, enjoins it upon Christians 
that they be courteous ; and I appeal to the more experienced and observing among 
my hearers to know if, in looking over the list of their acquaintances through general 
society, in the community, and in the Church, courtesy has not had much to do with 
individual success. Do we not know of merchants who are alike in all substantial 
qualities, equally honest, ha\'ing about the same amount of capital and credit, and yet 
one of them constantly draws custom, but the other fails to do so? One turns his 
capital frequently and always profitably ; in the other case his goods become old, and 
he can hardly find a purchaser. Now, when you come to examine the two men, you 
will find that one is genial, pleasant, and attractive ; his countenance is at once a 
doxolog}' and a benediction to everj- customer that comes to his shop, and this natu- 
rally draws around him an increase of trade and accumulates fortune. And what is 
true in mercantile pursuits is true in professional life. Do we not know members of 
the legal profession that we esteem as able advocates and as learned counsel, and yet all 
are not equally successful who are equally learned and industrious? You will see one of 
these lawyers constantly accumulating briefs, constantly increasing the number of his 
chents, constantly adding to his fortune and increasing his influence, until from the work 
of the office he rises step by step, and occupies a place amid the ranks of statesmen, 
and exerts a potential influence in legislative halls and senatorial chambers ; while the 
other, who was his equal in all the substantial elements of success when they were 
both young men, passes through a long and unsuccessful life a briefless barrister. 

"The man who now holds the second place in the gift of the American people holds 



APPENDIX. 563 

that position, not in virtue of superior talent and honesty, but he is one of your 
genial, kindly, pleasant gentlemen, who naturally attracts friends wherever he goes, 
and who gathers about him those who take an interest in him because of this very 
geniahty and universal kind-heartedness. If I look among the members of my own 
profession, as I glance over a pastorate of some forty years, much of the time having 
had a wide range of observation, I do know that, when parishioners come seeking 
pastors, talent is not the only thing they ask for, nor is it oftentimes, by any means, 
the most important thing they want. They desire a pastor who is gentle, pleasant, 
gentlemanly, kind-hearted. I look back now over more than one-third of a century 
with very distinct recollections of a large multitude of ministers of our own com- 
munion. I remember those who, thirty years ago, were substantially equal in the 
elements of a good Christian character, all of them above suspicion, all of them 
honest in their purposes, and yet some of them have fallen back, while others have 
gone steadily forward. And I declare to you that, so far as I have been able to see, 
in many cases the principal ground of failure on one part and success on the other 
has been in these lighter elements of character. 

"Although these things may not come up even to the dignity of minor morals, I 
submit to you that this is one of the cases where it does well to tithe even mint, anise, 
and cumin. If by attention to these things we can make ourselves more useful, it is 
well worth while to attend to them. Of course, a minister does not forfeit his soul 
because he does not know how to enter and leave a parlor ; he has not committed a 
mortal sin because he can not make a graceful bow ; he has not offended against the 
Holy Ghost because he always wears a somber countenance instead of a smiling face. 
But if these things have so much to do with our success as ministers of Christ, I 
submit to j^ou if our text (Rom. xvi, 1-15) teaches no other lesson but that of courtes}', 
it is well worth our learning." — Extract of Sermon on " The Church m the House.'''' 



c. 

BISHOP MORRIS'S HINTS TO YOUNG MINISTERS. 

'' I. Do every thing at the right time, not a half hour after the time. If we do not 
obsei-ve this rule we shall be perpetually interfering with the rights and comforts of 
others. Moreover, if we are behind in one thing we will most likely be behind in 
another, and so the thing will grow to be a habit with us. Take the subject of reports 
of statistics. In every Conference there are freqvient calls on delinquents. The right 
place to make up reports is at home, where the records are at hand, and the place to 
make reports is the first day at Conference. The secretary has to copy these reports, 
and he ought to have them at the earliest practicable moment. 

"2. Make preparation to preach. You are to study. You are to study diligently, 
regularly, prayerfully. No man can succeed who does not study. There are, how- 
ever, two ways of composing — one on paper, the other mentall3^ He who composes 
only on paper can only use his material when every thing is favorable ; but he who 
composes in his mind can preach under almost any circumstances — in the parlor, the 
school-house, under the tree, in the street. When we are commanded to go into all 
the world, I do not understand we are to read, but to preach. Rather than listen to 
a man read I would prefer to hear him extemporize, though he violated the rules of 
grammar in every third sentence. In a ministry of fifty years I have never read a 
single sermon in the pulpit, and tried the use of notes or a brief but three times. 
Condensation is a very important thing in a minister. Have something to say, say it, 
and quit when you are done. 



564 



APPENDIX. 



"3. But important as preaching is, it is only part of our work. Pastoral visitation 
is the great duty of the ministry. We are to go from house to house, as Paul did. 

"The children are the hope of the Church and the hope of the world. The}' are 
soon to take our places in both. If you wish to succeed, make friends of the children. 
If you wish to keep young while your head gi'ows white, be much with the children. 
Never pass a child without stopping and shaking hands with him. Ask him his name, 
if you have forgotten it, and about the family and his brothers and sisters. Make him 
think that 3'ou are thinking about him." 



D. 

For printed copies of a Constitution and other documents relating 
to Ladies' and Pastors' Christian Unions, apply to Mrs. Annie 
Wittenmyer, 1018 Arch-Street, Philadelphia. 



E. 

For suggestions to aid in organizing a Praying Band and a form 
of Constitution, apply to Joseph Hillman, Troy, New York. 

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM SAMUEL HALSTED, 

President of the Neiv York General Prayer-Meeting Association, organized in 1857. 

" We have now ten members ; twenty-one is the full number. We renominate and 
elect them everj"- year. From their number we select annually a Leader, a President, 
Vice-President, Secretary', and Treasurer. The Leader takes charge of all the relig- 
ious meetings, starting all tunes, and calling on the brethren to exhort or praj', as he 
may deem advisable. We are very strict in the examination of the characters of our 
members, and no one is allowed to remain a member who has not a clear record in 
the sight of the people. We go to no Church unless by joint written invitation of the 
preacher in charge and his official members. The Churches are crowded wherever we 
go, and God pours out his Holy Spirit upon the people in a wonderful manner. Blessed 
be his holy name ! Many have been converted and have gone home to heaven through 
the instrumentality of this Band. I believe Bands formed in the various Churches 
would be productive of much good, provided they were conducted by men of sound 
judgment, suitable talents, and deep religious experience. We want none who do not 
feel a deep interest in the work, none who think noise is an evidence of a great and 
good meeting, while all must be men of good character in the community, of standing 
in the Church, and having the entire confidence of their brethren. Composed of such 
men a Band is powerful for good, but otherwise composed it will do harm instead of 
good." 



INDEX 



PACE. 

Acquaintance, a primary necessity.. 275 

Advantages of first 278 

Means of 293 

Adaptation in sermons 348 

Of Christian talent 393. 399 

Power of 240 

Administration of discipline 300 

Of ordinances 285 

Advantages of itinerancy 540 

Of pastors 343, 3S8 

Of protracted meetings 448 

Aid, pastoral 395 

Aid societies 407 

Aims of ministers 553 

Amiability as a trait of character 209 

Apostasy vitiates authority 127 

Apostolic Constitutions 89, 561 

Apostolic view of the ministry 106 

Of the pastoral office 164 

Appointments, pastoral 295 

With families 470 

Architecture of churches 526 

Associations, Christian 405 

Associations of ministers 532 

Attitudes of devotion 324 

Authority, pastoral 310 

Author's point of view 273 

Baxter quoted 251 

Behavior in society, a minister's 491 

Bernard of Clairvaux quoted 95 

Books, circulation of 376 

For the Young 426 

Selection of 262 

Value of 191 

Bramwell's Rules for prayer-meetings 336 

Brevity of sermons 347 

Of visits to the sick 475 

Builders, ministers must be 172 

Burnet, Bishop, quoted 94, g6 



PAGE. 

Calls, pastoral, not visits 471 

Call, the divine 66, 74 

Historical view 74 

Internal and external 126 

Ministerial, different stages of iii 

Practical view 105 

Usual modes of. 113 

Camp-meetings 449 

Canon of the mass 92 

Caughey, J., quoted 429 

Celibacy, clerical 494 

Changes desirable to ministers 539 

Character, personal traits of. 209 

Religious qualities of 225 

Study and acquirement of 203 

Choice of Church relations 535 

Christ a priest 42 

A prophet 39 

A teacher 41 

His kingly office 48 

His sacrifice 44 

Christianity associative 532 

The source of progress 417 

Chrysostom on Lent 446 

The priesthood 84 

Church action '.. 124 

Directories 294 

Discipline 399 

Duties of, to a pastor 303 

Edifices essential to Christianity- 524 

Extension 524 

Libraries 266, 30S 

Records 2S8 

Proper departments of 290 

Special uses of 291 

Relations voluntary 535 

Church of England reform 96 

Circles for reading 406 

Class-Leaders 395 

Meetings 340, 396 



566 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Clerical manners in company 488 

Colleges founded by ministers 515 

Colportage 377 

Commission, the great 61 

Committees for Church purposes 405 

Companionship, heavenly 559 

Conduct of prayer-meetings 334 

Confirmation 287 

Congregational singing 324 

Connectional relations 532 

Consistency, importance of 241, 355 

Consolations of a pastor 558 

Conversation, taking the lead in 485 

Converts, agency of 444 

Co-operation with pastors 314 

Courage demanded in ministry 222 

Courtesy 279 

Crosby quoted 348 

Cyprian quoted 84 

Deacons, appointment of 77 

Decision of character 218 

Definiteness of aim demanded 215 

Degeneracy, clerical 100 

Delivery of sermons 352 

Dempster referred to 246 

Departments of Christian activity 388 

Devotion a demand of the soul 318 

Difficulties, pastoral 549 

Diffidence in ministers 478 

Dignity as a trait of character 210 

Dignity ofthe sacred office intrinsic 118, 553 

The highest 553 

Directories of Churches 294 

Disciples called 54 

Discretion, importance of 212 

Discrimination needed 402 

Dismissal of members 300 

Dispensation, Christian 37 

Mosaic 33 

Patriarchal 29 

Division of ministerial labor 140 

Domestic missions 509 

Duties in harmony with the ministry.. 141 

Of Churches to pastors 303 

Of a pastor, personal 244 

Public and official 271 

To educational institutions... 515 

Parents and children 516 

The press 373, 518 

The State 522 

Sunday-schools 367 

Successors 317, 548 

With reference to church building. 524 



PAGE 

Ecclesiastical systems 532 

Education, public, a result of Chris- 
tianity 516 

Education, public, a pastor's duty in 

relation to 515 

Edwards, Jonathan, quoted 424 

Efforts for revivals 443 

Elders, appointment of 80 

Elements of Church prosperity 529 

Elements of success in pastoral visiting 469 

Employment of Christian help 392 

Encouragements, pastoral 552 

Energ}' required in ministers 219 

Entertainment, rational 406 

Enthusiasm demanded in a pastor 255 

Eucharist, the, an act of worship 329 

Evangelism aggressive 144 

Examination of class-leaders 400 

Example of Christ 465 

Exercise, condition of health 245 

Experience of Church life and labor... 181 

Experience of the divine call 109, 180 

Of piety 178 

Expository preaching 348 

Extracts, preservation and use of 268 

Faith, an element of patriarchism.... 30 

Faithfulness required 475, 479 

Fathers, spiritual 171 

Families, the pastor in other 489 

Family, the pastor in his own 493 

Feasts of charity 339 

Festivals, Christian 446 

Finance in Churches 389 

Foreign missions 510 

Fruitfulness a test of the divine call... 130 

Fruits of revivals 454 

Functions, chief, of the ministry 132 

Giving, the duty of. 390 

Guardianship 155, 374 

Guidance, divine, to be expected 275 

Habits to be cultivated 239 

Hall, Robert, quoted 553 

Health a condition of usefulness 246 

Hearing, the duty of. 306 

Heart-power 230, 233 

Heavenly-mindedness 225 

Herbert, George, quoted 486 

Holy Spirit's action in the divine call. 114 

Home courtesies 503 

Home evangelization 408 

Home libraries 37S 



INDEX. 



567 



PAGE. 

Home missionary work 185 

Hopefulness as a trait of character.... 222 

IDE.A.L of a minister's character 203 

Of a sermon 345 

Idolatrj', consequences of. 32 

Origin 31 

Impartiality as a trait of character 216 

Independence 217 

Indexes 269 

Influence in society, a pastor's 484 

Institutions of Christianity 504 

Interviews, personal, important 463 

Introduction of removmg members.... 301 

Inventiveness to be cultivated 240 

Itinerancy as a system 500 

Itinerancy favorable to a pastor's suc- 
cess 274, 455 

James, the precept of. 473 

Judgment corroborative of the divine 
call 118 

Ken's (Bishop) portrait of a pastor... 242 

Knowledge essential to ministers 186 

Must be wielded 198 

Of books 191 

Of men and society 190 

Lamb of God slain 159 

Lay-helpers 384 

Lay-preaching, object of 409 

Origin of. 102 

Leaders of classes 395 

Leaders of classes, female 398 

Legislation affected by Christianity... 554 
Libraries of Churches 266 

Offamihes 375 

Library, a minister's 261 

Essential departments of 264 

Listening to others a pastoral duty 464 

Local preachers 411 

Love-feasts 336 

Love indispensable 226, 236 

Luther quoted 95 

Macaulay quoted 481 

Machinery, physical and moral 415 

Magnanimity demanded 418 

Marriage, hints concerning 495 

Martyr, Justin, quoted 83 

Mass, canons concerning 92 

Masses, the, must be reached 232 

Maxfield, Thomas 102 



Means of promoting revivals 43? 

Success in pastoral visiting 4^0 

]Meetings for prayer 332 

For religious inquii-y 339 

Of religious classes 340 

Members, dismissal of 300 

Lists of... 277 

Reception of 282, 284 

Messiah, a shepherd 158 

Messianic offices 38 

Methodism and the pastorate 457 

Methodism a revival 422 

A system of Evangelic aggression 455 

Ministers quickened by revivals 429 

Subject to persecution 58 

Ministry, apostolic idea of 62, 64 

Instituted by Christ 53, 75 

Objects of. 119 

Scriptural view of 66 

Mission of the Twelve 55 

Of tlie Seventy 56 

Missions and Sunday-schools 371 

Mission schools 403 

Missions, domestic 509 

Foreign S^o 

Model home, the pastor's a 501 

Monasticism, origin of 89 

Morals, public, improved by Chris- 
tianity 554 

Mosheim's theory of apostolic schools 69 

Motives for pastoral visiting 479 

For thorough preparation 131 

Insufficient 122 

To labor for revivals .424 

Mottoes 222, 259, 393, 408 



Newspapers.... 
Writing for. 



267 
S18 



Obrdience to pastors 310 

Objects of class-meetings 401 

Pastoral visiting 460 

Obligations, official, of pastors 271 

Obstacles to pastoral visiting 479 

Office of a preacher 344 

Offices, general religious 26 

Messianic 37 

Olin, Dr., quoted 115, 120 

Omens, bad, of success 200 

Open-air preaching 410 

Oplatus, quoted 82 

Ordination compulsory 149 

Ritual of 93 

Significance of 147, 151 



568 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Ordination vows 97 

Organization needed 386 

Origin of idolatry 31 

Sacrifices 26 

Ornament in style 346 

Overseers, pastors must be 170 

Parochial relation unstable 537 

Pastor, the, a peace-maker 296 

In society 481 

Pastoral duties indicated 134 

Epistles quoted 165 

Office appointed 137 

Preliminary views of. 153 

Pastorate, the, a teaching office 166 

Patriarchal dispensation 29 

Paul, call and appointment of 77 

Periodicals a pastoral help 379 

Perseverance necessary 221 

Personal duties 244 

Peter's precepts 165 

Plan for dividing time 252 

Pleasures of the itinerancy ; 543 

Pledges of Christian work 391 

Pluralities 94 

Policy of the Church 412 

Political relations and duties of min- 
isters 522 

Portrait of a pastor 242 

Prayer for laborers 184 

Pastors 309 

Revivals 437 

Meetings 331, 453 

Personal 355 

Public 324 

Essentials of 326, 329 

Unions 406 

Preaching, importance of. 343 

Office of 132 

Perpetual obligation of. 144 

Preparation, a call to 120 

For pastoral visiting 469 

Revivals 435 

Successors 319 

Worship 321 

Press, power of the 373 

Writing for the 518 

Priesthood, Christian, true idea of.... 81 

Perverted 82 

Hierarchical, a usurpation 52 

Jewish 34 

Of Christ 42 

Pagan 31 

Privilege of study 258 



PAGB. 

Probationers, enrollment and care of.. 283 

Promises of revivals 425 

Prophetic reproofs 468 

Prophets, Christian 39 

Jewish 36 

Protracted meetings 445 

Providential guidance 124 

Public charities 505 

Pulpit a throne of power 342 

Qualifications to be sought... 145, 177 

Reading circles 406 

Habits of 268 

Public, of the Scriptures 327 

Reception of pastors 304 

Recognition of acquaintances 276 

Record-book of a pastor 270 

Reformation, the great, a revival 422 

Relations, connectional, of pastors 536 

Ecclesiastical, of pastors 532 

To seighboring pastors 546 

Reputation not identical with character 203 

Should be guarded 312 

Requisites of a pastor's library 263 

Responsibilities of the pastorate- 153 

Results of ministerial labor 553 

Revival, the Wesleyan loi 

Revivals and revival agencies 419 

Divine plan concerning 421 

Essential importance of 433 

History 434 

Seasons of harvest 430 

Rewards of a faithful pastor 558 

Ritualistic theory 142 

Sabbath a day of worship 320 

Sacerdotal idea 88 

System 90 

Sacrifice of Christ perfect 51 

Sacrifices, patriarchal 28 

Primeval 26 

Schools of the Apostles 70 

Theological 201 

Self-knowledge, Importance of. 186 

Means of 189 

Sentinel, the parson as, quotation 

from Herbert 486 

Sermon a growth 351 

Ideal of 345 

Settlements, pastoral 536 

Shepherd, Christ, the chief. 158 

Shepherds of Christ, Christian pastors 163 
Sick, claims of the 4S2 



INDEX. 



569 



PAGB. 

Singing an element of worship 323 

Sites of churches should be selected... 527 

Solicitude, pastoral, for the young 372 

Sprague, Dr., quoted 428 

Spurgeon quoted 349, 355 

Stevens, Dr., quoted 102, 422 

Stewardship, ministerial 173 

Strangers, duties to 302, 404 

Study, a privilege 258 

Hard, not dangerous 261 

Subjects classified 268 

Succession, ministerial 68, 175 

Pastoral 548 

Tactual 150 

Sunday-schools 359 

A pastor's duty to 367 

Support of pastors 307, 316 

Sicrsian Corda, a glorious motto 222 

Sympathy, a pastoral qualification 228 

Of Churches with pastors 315 

System, advantages of 254 

Of book and tract circulation 373, 383 

Taylor, Isaac, quoted 456 

Teachers, ministerial 166 

Temperance 505 

Testimony concerning revivals 428 

Tests of a divine call 129 

Theological schools 201 

Theology, classification of. 195 

Importance of 193 

Theories of the ministry 142 

Theoi-y and practice should be united. 199 

Tholuck quoted 349 

Thought increased by expression 521 

Time, distribution of 252 

Must be redeemed 248 

Topical study 258 

Tract distribution 381 

Training demanded 197 

Transubstantiation, the germ of... 87, 91 

Travail of soul for souls 239 

Trials of a pastor 551 



Under-shepherds appointed 163 

Union efforts 403 

For private prayer 406 

Of ladies and pastors 407 

Variety demanded in preaching 347 

Variations of pastoral duty 156 

Various forms of Christian work 504 

Visiting, pastoral 459 

Illustrated from Scripture — 465 

Volume circulation 380 

Voluntary system 157 

Vows, ministerial 98, 151 

Watchman, Pastors should be... 169, 374 
Webster's argument on ministerial 

usefulness 483 

Welcome to strangers 302 

To the pastor 304 

Wesley— appointment of class-leaders 39S 

On improvement of time 250 

Prayer-meetings 331 

Press 376 

Sunday-schools 361 

Visiting the sick 477 

Wheels of fire 357 

Wife, the pastor's 498 

Woman's work in the Church 407 

Works demanded of Christians... 385, 414 

Pledged by Church members 391 

Required of ministers 550 

Various forms of. 415 

Worship in social scenes 341 

Pastor a leader of. 318 

Places of 524 

Systems of 319 

Wrestling with God 356 

Writing for the press 519 

Young converts, agency of. 455 

Young Men's Christian Associations.. 507 

Zeal essential to ministers 235 



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